Coronavirus reveals something worse for Merced teen recovering at Modesto hospital
When Desiree Cady lays her head on her son’s chest, she can hear his heart. It’s a soothing sound, especially considering everything her son, William Bailey, has gone through the last two months.
“His heart is so loud,” Cady said.
William, 19, tested positive for the coronavirus on June 26, after experiencing symptoms of the virus for a week prior to being tested. Doctors told Cady they believe COVID-19 impacted an existing but undetected heart condition, further damaging two of his four heart valves.
William is recovering at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto after undergoing open-heart surgery in which doctors repaired one heart valve and replaced another with a mechanical valve.
“We never knew about a heart condition,” Cady said. “The doctors told us he has a hole in his heart. We don’t know if COVID caused it or if the hole was there from birth. The doctors think he was born with the hole in his heart and it’s caused damage to the valves over time then COVID came in and destroyed it.
“It’s the scariest thing I’ve had to deal with in my life. There were two different times when I thought I might lose my son.”
William tests positive for coronavirus
William, who graduated from Golden Valley High School in 2019 and started Merced College last year, hopes to work in law enforcement. Cady said her son had always been healthy. He played football, baseball and track at Golden Valley. He was named the homecoming king his senior year.
Golden Valley football coach Rick Martinez said he remembers a key player getting hurt in a game and William coming in and making some big plays to help the Cougars win.
Cady doesn’t know how her son was exposed to the virus. However, he had been experiencing mild symptoms for about a week in June before he was tested. William had complained of an itchy throat, but they thought it was just his allergies.
They found out he tested positive for COVID-19 on June 26. Doctors told him to quarantine for two weeks. Meanwhile, William started suffering from other symptoms like the chills, body aches and a fever. His temperature reached 104 degrees at one point.
“If you ask my son, he’ll say the chills are the worst,” Cady said. “He had them for a good five days.”
After two weeks, Williams’ symptoms subsided. He was symptom-free for three days and cleared to go back to work. He stayed home a couple more days just to be safe.
However, for the next three weeks William still felt fatigued and had leg pains and muscle aches.
When Cady took him to the doctor’s office on Aug. 6, he told them he had lost 21 pounds since January. His doctor ordered some blood tests.
“I was so scared it was something else, and it was,” Cady said.
Doctors discover heart issue
That same night, William had a swollen right foot. When they called the doctor, he advised a hospital visit. Cady took him the next morning to Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock.
Cady had to wait outside in the parking lot while William was in the emergency room. She eventually received a Facetime call from William.
“I could just tell by the look on his face that he was horrified,” Cady said. “He’s 19 years old, but he’s still my baby. I could see the doctors in the background were all suited up in what I call their hazmat suits.”
Cady spent that night in the parking lot at Emanuel. Even though she couldn’t be with her son in his room, she wanted him to know she was close by. She parked near his room.
Wiliam would eventually be transferred to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto for surgery to repair two heart valves. When her son was transferred to Modesto, Cady waited by the ambulance so she could give him a hug. She followed the ambulance in her car.
“He looked so pale, yellow and clammy,” she said. “He just looked sick.”
William had tested negative for COVID-19 while at Emanuel, so Cady was permitted to be in his room at Doctors. They took pictures together, they FaceTimed relatives, and she did her best to keep her son’s spirits lifted.
COVID complications
The next day a nurse came in and said things had changed. William had tested positive for COVID-19 in Modesto and now Cady had to leave. The doctors even told Cady they weren’t sure if they’d be able to do the operation because of the risk to staff because William had tested positive.
“It was heart-wrenching leaving him,” she said. “My heart was pounding. I told the doctor I need them to do this for me.”
According to Cady, the doctors decided William wasn’t contagious because he had been dealing with COVID-19 for so long and opted to perform the surgery.
The doctors had hoped to be able to repair both valves because William was so young, but the damage was too much to repair one of the valves. It had to be replaced with a mechanical valve, which means William will have to take blood thinners and closely monitor his blood for the rest of his life.
“I didn’t know if my son would make it out of surgery with all the complications,” Cady said. “I didn’t know if they would have to replace the valve. I felt helpless. Every time I looked at him and tried to keep a strong face, but I was terrified.”
Seeing photos of his former player in the hospital was tough for Martinez. William had a lot of friends, former teammates and classmates rooting him on from Merced.
“My daughter went to school with him and she was the one that told me about it,” Martinez said. “What got me is when I saw the picture of him in the hospital. A kid like Will, you never expect to see that. He’s always smiling ear to ear, ready for the next drill at practice. To see him like that, it made my heart stop.”
Friends, family help out with donations
Cady’s sister Serina Cornelio Doty started a GoFoundMe (#IkaikaStrong, drawing on William’s nickname) to help raise money for Cady and her family.
“She said you’re staying in a hotel, you’re not working, let’s see if we can get a little help,” Cady said. “We’ve far exceeded what we asked for and I’m so thankful.”
The goal was to raise $5,000. As of midday Friday, 313 donors had committed $12,775.
“I showed my son the GoFundMe account on Tuesday night and he was in tears,” Cady said. “I told him people care about you and want to help you.”
William had the surgery on Aug. 12 and has been recovering since.at Doctors Medical Center. His mother has barely left his side, only returning home once since William was first admitted into Emanuel on Aug. 7. Even when she wasn’t allowed in the hospital, she stayed near the window of his room.
“I hope we can go home, but at the same time I’m scared,” Cady said. “I want to give my son the best home care. I’m not in a rush to take him home. I want all his levels where they need to be with his blood. I’m not leaving until he’s ready to go home. We’re leaving together.”
Cady said his son was hesitant at first to share his story. He didn’t want to be known as the COVID kid.
“He said it’s OK to tell his story if it will help other teenagers who might not take the virus seriously,” Cady said. “He said, ‘I don’t want anyone else to have to go through what I did.’”
This story was originally published August 21, 2020 at 1:08 PM.
