Crofton Teen Continues To Struggle With COVID-Related Symptoms

CROFTON, MD — A 15-year-old Crofton teen continues to grapple with the effects of having had COVID almost one year later after contracting the virus. Medical professionals have noted that the effects of COVID aren't as severe in kids and teens, but they aren't completely immune from it.

Miya's brother tested positive first in June 2020 and the whole family subsequently quarantined. While everyone recovered, Miya still suffers from the effects.

“My asthma has been worse. I am very tired all the time. I take a lot of naps and I get very dizzy when I do any kind of exercise, or really just exert a lot of energy. That will all happen at least once a month for a week,” Miya Walker said.

She told WMAR that she's struggled with how she feels still today. She can't dance any longer, something she's passionate about.

"It's kind of like a loss. And, hard to deal with emotionally and mentally because it's something I’m so used to and passionate about. Just having to stop doing it randomly in the middle of the year, is definitely just very...a weird feeling to deal with," she said.

Miya’s mom Maisha Walker said sometimes she has to assist her daughter with such simple tasks as washing the dishes.

“...all of a sudden she's exerted too much energy, and she says mom, I have to lay down," Maisha Walker said. “She's been dealing with her asthma since she was a baby, but the heart issue, with the rapid heartbeat she just started really feeling after COVID."

Pediatric neurologist Dr. Laura Malone told WMAR that “for most children, they do have a relatively mild illness that lasts one to two weeks, then get back to their usual selves, but for a small subset of patients, the symptoms persist and they can actually be relatively debilitating.”