KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A 20-year-old Manhattan woman hospitalized with COVID-19 hopes her story will come home to young people who don’t take the virus seriously.
Cecilia Erker first noticed a loss of taste in early July and did not give it much thought. However, when she woke up the next day, she had all the classic symptoms.
“I’ve never been sicker in my life,” said Erker. “I felt like I was hit by a bus, I had a 102-degree fever, I had a cough, I was vomiting.”
Erker isolated himself at home but could not improve. He made several trips to the emergency room in Manhattan and had CT scans and chest x-rays. She learned that she had developed a secondary lung infection.
Doctors told her that she needed more intensive care, and sent her to the University of Kansas Medical Center, where she spent three days in the ICU and five days in isolation in a COVID wing.
She developed a secondary infection and will have surgery to remove most of her lung next week.
Erker said he lived an active and healthy lifestyle before testing positive.
“I never thought I would be in this position, two weeks into my 21st birthday, and I’m basically losing a lung,” said Erker.
Erker described the experience as terrifying, but he hopes it will come home to those who don’t take the virus seriously.
“It is very real; no one is invincible, no one is immune, it doesn’t matter if you are young, old and healthy,” said Erker.
Erker is one of a growing number of youth cases across the country. In Missouri and Kansas, those in the 20-30 age groups are currently showing the highest number of cases.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of Infection Control and Prevention at the University of Kansas Health System, said the meetings are likely to be to blame.
“If we can remember to wear our masks and meet in small groups, certainly less than 10 is much safer in smaller groups than in larger groups, we can really start to slow the spread of this disease,” Hawkinson said.
Erker hopes others will think about his story when they consider going against that advice.
“I went out to restaurants, I went out with friends, and now I’m paying the price and I regret it. If I could get it back, I would,” said Erker.
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