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A super healthy 19-year-old college sophomore Chad Dorrill died on Monday, Sept. 28, 2020, from the coronavirus.
Susan Dorril encouraged her son to quarantine and get tested for COVID-19. He majored in exercise science at Appalachian State Unversity in Boone, North Carolina. At the time he became ill, he was taking online classes off-campus.
He was tested positive for the virus in his hometown, so he isolated himself. The doctor cleared him to return to Boone, shortly after his arrival, he suffered additional complications and was hospitalized.
Dorril experienced serious neurological problems, including not being able to walk. Tonia Macy, a friend of the family, reported that doctors suspected that he had a previous undetected case of a rare condition triggered by an acute bacterial or viral infection.
The immune system attacks the nerves by the name of Guillain-Barre’ Syndrome. Although COVID-19 primarily affects the respiratory system, a significant number of patients have reported neurological symptoms.
His family said they are not sure how he contracted the virus. He always protected himself by wearing masks.
Dorrill’s mother said in a statement:
The doctors said that Chad is the rarest 1-10,000,000 case, but if it can happen to a super healthy 19-year old boy who doesn’t smoke, vape, or do drugs, it can happen to anyone. You have no idea who you can come into contact with that the virus affects differently. Chad was incredibly tired for two weeks, and little did we know it was secretly attacking his body in a way they have never seen before. As our family suffers this incredible loss, we want to remind people to wear a mask and quarantine no matter if they don’t have symptoms.
Most young and healthy people with the virus usually do not develop serious symptoms. Still, Dorrill and a football player at the California University of Pennsylvania were ill for months or passed away. Doctors at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston- Salem are trying to figure out how this happened to a healthy 19-year-old
He Graduated from Ledford High School in Thomasville. Jason Anderson, his former coach, said: “This is a perfectly healthy 19-year-old kid that two years ago was running up and down the floor playing 30 out of 32-minute games. It is hard to come to terms with his death.”
Dorril also played for The Piedmont Pacers, a traveling basketball team. He was the leading scorer for the 2018 USSSA National Championship team.
This awful disease has taken this young man from far too soon. Chad was an original member of the Piedmont Pacers, and we first met him in 2013 after he and his family moved to North Carolina from Wisconsin. The Piedmont Pacers family is devastated to learn of the passing of Chad Dorrill, due to complications from COVID-19.
On Tuesday, the Appalachian State reported its first coronavirus-related student death. The university has 159 current COVID-19 cases among students.
Since in-person classes resumed last month, about 550 students tested positive. Three North Carolina colleges, UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State Unversity, and East Carolina University, stopped physical classes for students after a series of coronavirus outbreaks after students returned to campuses. About a 1,000 UNC students tested positive since August. ECU surpassed 1,000 cases this month, followed by NC State.
Appalachian State Chancellor Sheri Everts reminded college students to take the virus seriously and follow public health guidelines. In a message to the university community on Tuesday, she wrote: “His family’s wishes are for the university to share a common call to action, so our entire campus community recognizes the importance of following COVID-19 safety protocols and guidelines, despite generally being at lower risk for severe illness, college-age adults can become seriously ill from COVID-19.”
The president of the public college system oversees the state’s 16 colleges and universities. Peter Hans, said, “I ache for the profound sadness that Chad Dorrill’s family is enduring right now. My heart goes out to the entire Appalachian State community. Any loss of life is a tragedy, but the grief cuts especially deep as we mourn a young man who had so much life ahead.”
Written by Jessica Letcher
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
Fox News: Appalachian State student, 19, dies from COVID-19 complications: report; David Aaron
Wavy: 19-year-old Appalachian State student dies of COVID-19 complications; Brian Reese
CBS News: “Super healthy” Appalachian State student dies following COVID-19 complications;
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Chucka_nc’s Flickr Page- Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Jimmy Emerson, DVM’s Flickr Page- Creative Commons License