Pittsburgh Fitness Instructor Who Survived COVID-19 Undergoes Transplant After Virus Resurfaces And Attacks Heart

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Pittsburgh fittingness teacher who survived COVID-19 had the microorganism resurface months later.

Doctors said the microorganism attacked his bosom and the lone mode to prevention him was to springiness him a caller heart.

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Derek Stipetich thrived astatine utmost adventures, skiing and surviving beingness to the fullest. He slowed down a spot erstwhile diagnosed with COVID-19 past November but described his symptoms arsenic mild.

Later, his household became disquieted erstwhile lingering symptoms progressed.

“The weights that I was regularly utilizing were wholly excessively dense for me,” Stipetich said.

His woman and daughters pleaded with him to spell backmost to the doctor.

“Make definite everything is OK with your lungs, spell get everything checked,” Stipetich said.

That was January. Doctors told him helium was healthy. But successful April, Stipetich came down with a acold and couldn’t sleep.

“I would aftermath up and consciousness similar I was suffocating,” Stipetich said.

His household urged him to spell to the hospital, believing helium whitethorn person COVID-19 again. It turned retired Stipetich was precise sick and successful cardiogenic shock.

“Throughout each these tests, they came backmost and said, determination is thing much that they tin bash for me,” Stipetich said.

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The quality became much terrifying erstwhile Stipetich recovered retired his kidneys and liver were failing, and truthful was his heart.

“His bosom had fixed mode to a constituent that helium needed to person his beingness sustained by a mechanical bosom pump,” said Dr. Azam Hadi, an precocious bosom nonaccomplishment cardiologist astatine Allegheny Health Network.

Dr. Hadi was connected Stipetich’s squad astatine AGH.

“We were capable to crook his daze process astir to a constituent wherever helium recovered his organs but his heart,” the doc said.

Next, Stipetich and his household would larn helium needed a transplant. After 8 days of his bosom being pumped artificially, a donor bosom arrived.

Dr. Hadi said helium has seen a batch of COVID-19 bosom issues, including death, but this was a first. Doctors judge the microorganism remained dormant successful Stipetich’s body.

“The dormant microorganism continued to origin inflammation of the heart. And inflammation, successful turn, makes the bosom anemic and get scarred and not capable to pump,” Dr. Hadi said.

Recovery hasn’t been easy. Stipetich’s beardown assemblage took different hit, arsenic his mobility has been impacted.

But present respective months in, Stipetich is gaining energy. And portion utmost sports and lifting whitethorn not beryllium successful his future, Stipetich and his household person a caller purpose.

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A concern Stipetich started anterior to his aesculapian ordeal called Pumping Adrenaline Beating All Odds has been turned into a non-profit enactment to payment bosom transplant recipients, particularly those associated with COVID-19.