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A Dublin teenager who nearly died of COVID despite having NO underlying health conditions has said that he must now learn to walk again.
Rathfarnham student Jack Edge, 17, spent nearly a month in the hospital, including 12 days on a ventilator fighting for his life.
Now the brave boy, who has had to be reinstated TWICE due to complications from the killer virus, is urging young people to “do the right thing.”
“I ended up in the ICU on a ventilator for 12 days. And 22 weeks later, I’m still recovering,” Jack told RTE today.
“Personally I have probably experienced one of the worst things in my life due to COVID and I just want to raise awareness for young people.”
Jack first began showing symptoms on April 15 and was admitted to Tallaght Hospital five days later.
Within 12 hours of his admission to the hospital, he had to be admitted to intensive care.
He continued: “They admitted me to the ICU and in a few hours, although they told him [his mum] that it wouldn’t be necessary to do so, he was hooked up to a ventilator because he couldn’t breathe properly.
“A memory that really haunts me at times – I have a lot of trauma from the ICU – especially when they put this airtight mask on to help me breathe.
“It was the middle of the night and I was screaming, crying, it was really horrible.”
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After 12 days, Jack’s condition improved enough that he was able to get off the ventilator and he was transferred from the ICU to a high dependency ward.
But the nightmare was not over.
He continued: “I didn’t sleep for three days, not by choice. I literally couldn’t. Every time I closed my eyes it was just dizziness, and a lot of colors, and I felt like I was falling.
“So I literally had to stay in bed for 72 hours, staring at a wall.”
Jack said that in addition to the obvious physical challenges that COVID posed, the virus also affected his mental well-being.
“I have also had many dark moments in the hospital. For my mental health, since I also struggle with anxiety, “she explained.
Jack finally got the news that he would be waiting on May 13 when a nurse manager told him he could go home.
“I will never forget those words,” Jack continued. “I just said, ‘Can I give you a hug?’ It was probably the best day of my life. “
Jack was finally able to reunite with his family, whom he hadn’t seen in almost a month.
He said: “There was a lot of emotion, a lot of crying, that was the first time I had seen them in a long time.”
However, the brave Jack’s battle was by no means over.
On May 28, he was readmitted to the hospital in excruciating pain. Doctors told the teenager that he had likely suffered nerve damage from COVID.
He continued: “There’s no question about it, I basically have to learn to walk again.
“I am taking about 10 tablets every 12 hours, that is, between 18 and 20 tablets a day. To heal my nerves, my anxiety and the pain itself.
“I do two to two and a half hours of physical exercise every day, depending on how much energy I have.
“I wake up some days and I get really angry, and I think, I still don’t know why this happened to me.”
Jack was admitted to the hospital for the third time last month when he began to suffer severe chest pain and shortness of breath.
He continued: “I have gotten frustrated with a lot of people due, obviously, to my history of COVID and what it has done to me.”
Jack said that when he tells his story he amazes people, but on a positive note, he said that “they have done the right thing ever since.”
The brave young Rathfarnham now wants his teammates to take the virus seriously.
He said, “My main message to young people is, do it for yourself, do it for your friends.
“Do it so that your elderly loved ones are safe, so they don’t get sick, so that you can be with them and life can get back to normal.
“It’s not that difficult, it really isn’t. Just wear a mask, socially estranged when you can. That’s really all I have to say to young people.”
You can watch RTE’s powerful interview with Jack here, or watch the RTE Drive Time podcast online to hear his parents Rob and Jen talking to Sarah McInerney.
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