High school basketball coach is a COVID-19 long hauler who is still struggling

EVANSVILLE, Indiana — Shane Burkhart keeps telling his wife, Stacy, he honest wants to feel normal again.

Nearly two months after contracting COVID-19, then again, Burkhart, is far from it.

Burkhart, in his 13th season as Bosse High School’s boys’ basketball coach, suffers from a variety of ailments. Whereas the pandemic hit several of his players in December and Burkhart is still feeling the outcomes,the Bulldogs have then again managed to publish a 14-2 file after a loss Tuesday.

Burkhart isn’t particular how he contracted the virus.

“I’d say I got it at practice, however have no idea to be apt,” he said. “With eight totally different players that had it at once plus myself, or no longer it’s hard to say we did no longer pass it to each totally different.”

Burkhart was never admitted to the hospital, though he was at one for 6 1/2 hours dealing with conceivable blood clots, one among dozens of strange aspect effects of COVID-19 that exhibits up in some patients. Bosse missed 14 days of practice. When the Bulldogs came back, Burkhart missed a couple of sessions for adjust to-up physician’s visits.

He had a multitude of indicators, including physique aches, diarrhea, blisters on his physique, temper swings, massive headaches, chills and zero vitality. He has slept constantly, lost a diminutive vision in his left stare (which is starting to near back back), had diminutive or no to no feeling in his left foot (especially the last two toes) and his left leg feels admire it weighs 10-15 more pounds than his moral leg. He has heart palpitations. He posthaste runs out of breath attempting to be active, and has long gone 55 days with out a sense of taste or scent.

After all this time, he is still having headaches, is often tired and has diminutive vitality.

“I literally wake up at 5: 45 for school and walk in the door at around 6 or 6: 30 at night, eat and high-tail to mattress,” Burkhart said.

He still has physique aches (decrease back and left leg) and gets dizzy. 

“Walking up steps with a laundry basket is challenging at occasions,” Burkhart said. “I have no taste or scent and dealing with the anxiety and the melancholy part of this is very hard.”

He doesn’t want to be away from his family.

“I really construct no longer feel admire myself in many ways although I enact feel a lot higher now than I did back in early to mid-January,” Burkhart said.

As far as coaching is enthusiastic, he’s relying heavily on assistant Johnte Hawkins and the remaining of his staff.

“It’s going as level-headed as it can, however our whole neighborhood of coaches and players are doing what every person else is doing,” Burkhart said. “We are placing in work each day with hopes we can proceed playing. You mask the emotion and struggles because or no longer it’s no longer for the players or coaches. It is your burden. You’re the person in charge and you discover ways to describe up and fulfill your characteristic each day.”

Still, it’s a battle.

“It really is. But whereas you have great other folks around you, you have a chance to dig your way out at a totally different pace,” Burkhart said.

Indicators vary

This virus is so complicated because it hits other folks in totally different ways. Some have no indicators or honest a few days of level-headed ones.

“Some are on their backs for weeks and some never enhance,” Burkhart said.

He’s grateful that he really did no longer have any chest congestion or breathing issues, aside from a shortness of breath whereas transferring.

“Other than the unfortunate ones who have had to be hospitalized you are searching for answers on the computer or listening to the information because you can’t get in to contemplate the physician,” Burkhart said. “Then the aspect effects are scary in themselves.”

Whereas those over 60 are at greater risk from COVID-19, the virus has confirmed that it can be unpredictable, generally causing severe or prolonged sickness in the young and those with few or no obvious risk factors, said Dr. Heidi Dunniway, Chief Medical Officer, Ascension St. Vincent South Location. 

“The variation in both severity of sickness and time to enhance reinforces the importance of measures to slit back spread, including masking, social distancing, handwashing and now vaccination,” Dunniway said. “Whereas most individuals contaminated with the COVID-19 virus have level-headed or no indicators and enhance fairly posthaste, there are those who have more prolonged sickness. This can encompass a vast range of indicators, such as fatigue, shortness of breath, ‘brain fog’ and sleep disturbances. 

“For every other folks, many of whom are younger and had simplest level-headed initial infection, these indicators can persist for weeks or months. We proceed to learn more about ‘long-haul’ COVID-19 and the suitable way to assist those patients enhance.”

Burkhart honest would no longer feel admire himself, mentally or physically. He is no longer a whirlwind on the sidelines, calling out instructions and encouragement to his players or giving an official an earful.

“Legal shimmering and hearing the unfortunate incidents of others causes anxiety whereas you are compelled to wade via a few of the same things,” he said. “It was very hard to high-tail to the hospital with out a loved one. It was very, very hard sitting in a room by yourself no longer shimmering whereas you are going to be admitted and perchance never contemplate your family again.”

All of this weighs for your emotions. Then it follows you and actually challenges your perspective of existence, Burkhart said. 

“I have never had heart palpitations until this happened,” he said. “It’s an emotional rollercoaster. You cry, laugh and are angry for all of the same reasons. You honest construct no longer feel admire yourself.”

As Dunniway celebrated, COVID knows no age limits.

“This hits the solid as properly as the older and no longer as healthy,” Burkhart said.

For example, his 22-year-archaic daughter Sydney was operating as a lot as 11 miles a day preparing for a half marathon when she contracted the virus in mid-October. All of these months later, she now struggles to bustle a mile.

“There is no timetable and actually no route,” Burkhart said. “When this is all over we’ll have a totally different outlook on many things. I know I will value a lot of things I have taken for granted.”

Be aware Gordon Engelhardt or on Twitter @EngGordon