COVID, The Long Haul: LI Man Still Feels Effects 10 Months Later

GREAT NECK, NY — Rob Fried is a healthy 59-year-old. The Great Neck resident runs marathons, often winning medals for his age group. But something happened during a race in early December that was a first for the long-time runner: he finished a half-marathon spitting up blood.

Fried had an idea what it was — an after-effect of the coronavirus, which he contracted in February. It left him with perplexing and unexpected symptoms that he still experiences.

Fried believes he was exposed to the virus on a winter trip to Florida or riding a crowded New York City subway. He had a low-grade fever for two days and a severe cough for ten days. The relative mildness of the illness and his apparent full recovery left him feeling grateful to have vanquished the coronavirus.

In May, however, Fried began spitting up blood.

Because the coronavirus is new, the long-term effects and possible secondary issues are confusing and unknown to doctors. But there is a growing consensus that a small percentage of those who get COVID-19 will have long-term symptoms. Some have dubbed themselves "long-haulers" and discuss their struggles on online forums and in support groups.

People have reported everything from long-lasting fatigue and lung issues to mental health problems months after contracting the virus.

The New York Times reported earlier this month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates possibly hundreds of thousands of Americans may belong to the group experiencing the mysterious long-term effects of the virus. The array of long-term symptoms may get its own official syndrome name soon.

Fried is surprised to be among that group, he told Patch, because he wasn't hospitalized and didn't feel extremely ill in February when he contracted the virus. After bleeding from his mouth for 15 minutes following the half-marathon, a pulmonologist told him his lungs were damaged, with a compromised lining that can't produce protective phlegm. Even though Fried is still capable of running fast and pushing his body, ten months after his bout with the virus, doctors are treating his symptoms as exercise-induced asthma, something Fried never had before.

Fried's doctors ordered a CT scan to further investigate, suspecting the bleeding could be an effect of the virus that has baffled doctors and patients alike.

"This thing really messed me up," Fried said.