Allegheny Co. Man Who Was In Coma Due To Coronavirus Now Undergoing Physical Therapy To Regain Strength
CHESWICK, Pa. (KDKA) -- As more people recover from coronavirus, more people are seeing the long-term side effects.
Those ongoing health problems vary from person to person and can change someone's way of life.
"I thought when I came out of the hospital, I'd be the normal self I was. But I didn't. I had tasks and difficulties," Shawn Scherz said.
Scherz spent 93 days in Allegheny General Hospital. He spent 60 in a coma and 51 days on a ventilator.
"It happened so quick. It puts everyone in a tailspin, and you don't know which way you are going to go from day to day," Scherz said.
He told KDKA that he has no clue where he got COVID-19, but it's a virus that has left an impact. He's not alone.
"Most common I've been seeing is going to be fatigue, muscle weakness and soreness," said Dr. Randolph Peters.
Dr. Peters is with Allegheny Health Network and told KDKA that he's seeing more and more patients with varying long-term symptoms.
"The thing that is really scary is this is exploding. It's off the chart. If even 10 percent of these people have these symptoms that had the infection, we are already up to millions of cases. And we are on this part of the curve we haven't even seen the top yet," Peters said.
For Scherz, he lost feeling in his hands and feet, had memory loss, heart problems and no sense of smell. Dr. Peters said there is no one treatment for the side effects.
"I got a second chance at life. And with that second chance, I do things to improve myself and move forward to get back to the person I was," Scherz said.
Right now, Scherz is taking small steps with physical therapy and is asking the community to not back down on the fight against COVID-19.
"It almost took my life and took things away from my family. Wash your hands, sanitize all the stuff they tell you to do. Do it because you could be here one day and gone the next," Scherz said.
Since starting physical therapy in October, Scherz's therapists said he's come a long way in terms of his range of motion and regaining strength. His hope is that one year from now he will be back to some form of normal.