Norwich Woman Credits Son's Coronavirus With Saving His Life

NORWICH, CT — A Norwich mother says that, in a strange twist of fate, a positive COVID-19 test may have saved her son's life, according to NBC CT. Nicole Wilson said her 17-year-old son recently tested positive for the virus and began having chest pain.

In the past, the chest pains had been dismissed as heartburn. But because of the positive test results, the doctors ran additional tests to check for blood clots.

The tests instead found an aortic dissection, according to NBC CT. Michael was transported to Hartford where he had emergency surgery.

The dissection and aneurysm were so large that the teen may have been 24 to 48 hours away from death if the doctors hadn't caught it.

The aneurysm was caused by a rare genetic condition called Marfan syndrome, which causes a split in the body's largest artery, according to The Day. Unfortunately, doctors informed Wilson that her other four children all likely suffer from the syndrome as well.

Marfan syndrome affects one out of 5,000 people.

The family has started a GoFundMe to raise money for a service dog. Wilson said that a trained service dog is important to alert someone when her son is showing signs of getting dizzy or losing his vision.

"I think this will help him with his mental health as he can't go to school in person," Wilson wrote on the page.

The fund has raised nearly $1,600 of its $10,000 target.