Mother says son’s COVID diagnosis saved his life

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    NORWICH, CT (WFSB) — The numbers are staggering — more than 400,000 Americans died after contracting COVID-19.

But, believe it or not, the coronavirus actually saved one teenager in Norwich.

“His story is so unique and it brings a positive out of COVID. In the end, it saved him,” said Nicole Wilson of Norwich.

She said if her 17-year-old son Michael had not contracted the coronavirus, he wouldn’t be alive right now.

It started in October when Michael tested positive for COVID-19.

He recovered quickly, but the day his quarantine ended, all of a sudden, he didn’t feel quite right.

“He started talking about chest pain that was just not going away,” Wilson explained.

She took him to Backus Hospital, where doctors initially thought it was severe heartburn.

However, because of Michael’s recent COVID diagnosis, they ordered a blood test just in case, and the results were scary.

“I almost fell over, they had to get me a chair,” Wilson said.

The tests showed Michael had an 8-centimeter aneurysm in his heart that was on the verge of bursting. He needed open heart surgery right away.

“The surgeon came out, had me sign the release, and said thank God we found it because this would have killed him,” Wilson said.

The surgery went well, and Michael’s long-term prognosis is good, although he still faces health challenges right now.

“The blood flow doesn’t go through his brain like it should. It makes him dizzy and it makes him lose his vision,” Wilson said.

Michael’s COVID diagnosis may have also saved the lives of his siblings because further tests revealed Michael, along with his three brothers and one sister, all suffer from Marfan Syndrome, which is a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue.

“COVID not only saved Michael, it saved my other kids,” Wilson said.

All of her children will get the treatment they need, and the family created a GoFundMe page to buy Michael a therapy dog.

Despite their struggles, Wilson said she is grateful her son contracted COVID.

“Everyone was thankful that he made that decision to do that blood test because, you know, it saved him,” Wilson said.

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