It started with a headache. Then the body aches came. Then breathing, a normal task, became not so normal. One week later, Freshman Lucas Thigpen was admitted into the ICU at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, fighting for his life.

Lucas Thigpen’s summer started out like any other. He spent time playing video games, playing with his dog, and spending time with his family and friends. He was getting ready to start high school here at Trask when he got the worst news anyone can get nowadays. He has Coronavirus. He was not the first person in his family to get it, but shortly after he got it, his mom noticed that his breathing was not ok. “My mom noticed that I was breathing really shallow, and that I was not getting enough air, so she made my dad take me,” said Lucas when asked about the morning that he was admitted. His mom and dad were also sick with COVID-19, and his dad was the only one who felt well enough to take him. When he got there, the people there took his vitals and realized immediately that his oxygen levels were not good and put him on oxygen right away. “Scary and uncomfortable,” the words Lucas used when he was asked about how his time in the hospital was. “I was scared that I was gonna die, and they were telling me that I was fine, but I didn’t feel fine, and I was sad that I could not see my dog.” Lucas was almost put on a ventilator in the hospital, the words no one wants to hear, because that means they are very close to death. Lucas’ parents were told that he was the sickest child patient in the ICU. Lucas was given an experimental medicine that the hospital only had 6 vials of. He had pneumonia in both of his lungs, and the doctor’s thought that this medicine could help him get better. The medicine worked. After all that fear that he wasn’t going to make it, his levels started to go back up. He was healing. He started to make a recovery, and was healthy enough to go home. “The first thing I did when I got home was run to see my dog because I missed my dog so much,” Lucas said about getting home. Since Lucas has been home, he has been able to come back to school. He can only come for half days right now, and he has to use the elevator and be let out of class 5 minutes early to get to his class on time, but it is much better than being in a hospital bed, not knowing what your future holds. It still isn’t the greatest of circumstances. “It’s been tough, you know I’m only here half a day every day, and it’s hard not being in all my classes every day.” Lucas’ lungs are still not 100%, so he and his family are taking every precaution necessary to ensure his safety at home and at school. But every day, he is getting better and stronger, and soon, he will be back to the Lucas Thigpen that we all know and love. 18 days with COVID, but he is still here to enjoy many more.