九色视频

九色视频 鈥� Keeping good grades 鈥� much less straight As 鈥� your freshman year of high school is an accomplishment for anyone.

But when it comes to 15-year-old Dylan Smith, those good grades are a testament to Smith鈥檚 perseverance.

For about three years, Dylan was too sick to attend school. After getting COVID-19 in January 2022, Smith developed long COVID.

At 12 years old, Dylan lost the ability to do anything for himself. Over time, he could no longer eat without a feeding tube or walk. He developed non-epileptic seizures, caused by trauma and pain.

鈥淢y pain got worse every day,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t kind of felt like my bones were breaking every second.鈥�

There were two months where he stopped talking.

鈥淎nd it鈥檚 not that he didn鈥檛 want to talk,鈥� said his mom, Stacey Smith. 鈥淗e physically couldn鈥檛.鈥�

As his physical pain grew, Dylan struggled with his mental health. He said he was in a 鈥渄ark place.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檇 felt so bad for my sickness, and I鈥檇 felt like I鈥檇 taken time away from my parents,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 kind of felt like it was my fault.鈥�

Stacey Smith said her son would have violent rages and would be in so much pain that his brain would 鈥渄isassociate from his body.鈥�

鈥淭here were times when he didn鈥檛 want to live anymore,鈥� she said, adding that she and her husband, Michael Smith, weren鈥檛 aware of those thoughts until later. 鈥淏ut that was where his mindset was.鈥�

Initially having COVID-19 for two weeks in 2022, Dylan started to feel better. But a few weeks later, he began getting cold symptoms that got progressively worse.

At first, doctors thought it might be pneumonia. But as Smith鈥檚 symptoms continued, doctors started to consider the possibility that it was long COVID.

鈥淭he idea of long COVID was so new at that point that they didn鈥檛 know if it could be (long COVID) or it was just a possibility since nothing else was working,鈥� Dylan said.

When they went to a COVID clinic in Baltimore that June, the doctors knew it was long COVID, Stacey Smith said.

The Smith family tried everything to get Dylan back in good health, from medication to a monthlong rehabilitation program to natural supplements.

鈥淎nd nothing worked,鈥� Stacey Smith said.

After the rehabilitation program, Dylan was in an even worse state than when he entered the program, his mom said.

鈥淚t was just a feeling of hopelessness,鈥� said Michael Smith, Dylan鈥檚 father. 鈥淵ou just keep going from what seems to be the best idea to the next idea when that one鈥檚 not the right one.鈥�

University of Maryland Shore Regional Health infectious disease specialist Dr. Rosa Mateo remembers patients coming to her at the beginning of the pandemic who had recently had COVID-19 and were presenting symptoms of cough, fatigue and brain fog. At the time, doctors didn鈥檛 know it was long COVID.

鈥淥f course this is five years ago,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e know more. But we don鈥檛 know enough.鈥�

It wasn鈥檛 until the Smiths traveled to the Spero Clinic in Arkansas for treatment last June that Dylan was able to get better. Stacey Smith said the clinic, which focuses on stimulating the vagus nerve to reset the nervous system, offers a variety of therapies that are not 鈥渢ypical Western medicine.鈥�

The Smiths spent four months at the clinic. During a lunch break to Chick-fil-A their eighth week there, Dylan Smith gained back his ability to move his torso and chest. A minute later, while they were in the drive-thru, he was able to move his legs, he said.

鈥淚 said, 鈥榃ell, wait a minute, if I can move everything, why not just try and stand up?鈥欌�� he remembered asking. 鈥淪o I stood up in the van in the Chick-fil-A parking lot.鈥�

Stacey Smith remembers screaming out of excitement seeing her son walk again.

When Dylan returned from the clinic in October in good health, it was straight to the books.

鈥淥nce I got better and we came home from Arkansas, I really did have to grind out school those couple months before getting back to really understand everything because I had been gone for three years,鈥� he said, adding that he had help from a retired teacher. 鈥淚t was mainly math. I really did (learn) three years of math in like three months.鈥�

Jan. 27 was Dylan Smith鈥檚 first day back at school. Since going back to school, he鈥檚 maintained good grades. Some of his favorite classes are English and world history.

As he sets his sights on the future, Dylan said he looks forward to taking drivers education this summer and playing on his school鈥檚 soccer team next year.

For others experiencing long COVID, he advised they should not give up hope, even when things feel hopeless.

鈥淭here is a life worth living,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou will gain that life back.鈥�