16-Year-Old Ballet Dancer Among COVID-19 'Long-Haulers' Facing Lingering Symptoms

The virus has left some children with puzzling symptoms, including extreme fatigue, fever, abdominal pain, seizures and brain fog. Several of them spoke to Inside Edition about their experiences.

Studies have shown that as many as one in four people who have had COVID-19 end up with lingering symptoms. And it turns out, children and teens can become long-haulers too.

Ballet dancing was 16-year-old Delaney Depue's life, until she came down with the virus.

“I literally felt like my legs were giving out from underneath me,” Depue told Inside Edition. 

The Florida teen danced 22 hours a week, but then she became a long-hauler. 

“I would try every day to do a class, but I would end up only being able to do 15 to 30 minutes,” Depue said.

The virus has left some children with puzzling symptoms, including extreme fatigue, fever, abdominal pain, seizures and brain fog. 

“It comes and goes in waves. The symptoms may vary or differ between patient to patient,” mom Melissa Lynch told Inside Edition. Lynch is the global ambassador of the U.S. branch of the organization, Long Covid Kids.

George Raskin suffers from fatigue and abdominal pain.

“You feel sort of like you’re repeatedly being kicked and stabbed,“ Raskin said. “I’ve been going through a lot of fatigue, just general cloudy, brain fog. And I’ve had memory issues as well.”

Meagan Naughton’s two daughters are also both long-haulers.

“Zoe has it the worst. She just spent six months in bed, unable to get up, unable to function, unable to do school. And Mia is now allergic to her own sweat. And so every time she exercises, she breaks out in hives from head to toe,” Naughton said.

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