A Magazine from Akron Children's
Everyone loves a good comeback story, and Gianna Sabatino has one. Her health problems started simply enough with a sore throat in December 2023. Gianna – a Girard High School sophomore at the time – competed in cross-country, soccer and track. She’d played through illness multiple times before. She expected this situation to be the same, but it wasn’t.
“I was feeling more tired after my workouts and had a bad sore throat. Then the aches started,” Gianna recalled. “I took an at-home COVID test, and it was positive.” Gianna followed protocols and returned to school after testing negative for COVID. She took midterm exams and returned to the soccer field. Life was getting back to normal … or so she thought.
“I started getting chest pain,” Gianna said, “and that was the first sign something wasn’t right.”
Other symptoms included a lump in her throat and shortness of breath. A few days after the holiday, she went to Akron Children’s Pediatrics. Gianna wondered if she’d returned to school and sports too soon.
The nurse practitioner referred Gianna to Akron Children’s Cardiology for tests, which came back normal, but dizziness and heart palpitations continued. “I started to feel like I might not wake up in the morning,” Gianna said.
She went to her pediatrician, Destiny Jamison, MD, at Akron Children’s Pediatrics in Warren. “I just wanted to help Gianna feel better and reassure her,” she said. “I took as much time as she needed to talk her through her feelings and fears.”
Dr. Jamison prescribed medication to reduce Gianna’s anxiety. Gianna’s resting heart rate was 120, and she started to have body aches. She had blood work and an ultrasound that showed she had an enlarged liver. Dr. Jamison then referred Gianna to Gastroenterology, but the liver inflammation didn’t improve with dietary changes.
“My sister works at Akron Children’s, and her colleague suggested that we see an infectious disease specialist,” Gianna’s mom, Jackie, said. “We met with Eric Robinette, MD. He spent 45 minutes asking questions and intently listening. He was so calm, and he said he knew what was happening to Gianna: long COVID.”
Dr. Robinette explained there wasn’t much research on long COVID’s effects on younger patients, but he expected Gianna to return to normal in 8-12 months. “Gianna had been suffering for quite a while by the time she got to me,” he said. “She was grateful for a diagnosis and plan – and relieved that her long-term prognosis was good. I emphasized we’d help her be as healthy as possible while the disease ran its course.”
Pacing is a technique Dr. Robinette used to get Gianna on the road to recovery. Often used for adults with chronic fatigue syndrome, pacing helps patients be as physically active as possible without overdoing it and causing a short-term setback or hurting long-term quality of life. Gianna’s first pacing assignment: walk 10 minutes a day. As her body tolerated the exercise, she’d increase walking time by a few minutes.
“Gianna was exceptionally motivated to get well. She understood the steps and reasons why we did things,” Dr. Robinette said. “With pacing, we helped her do something that’s important to her – physical activity – but not go past the breaking point.”
COVID attacked Gianna’s autonomic system that controls involuntary bodily functions, including blood pressure, heart rate, digestion and breathing. She sometimes lost hope that she would ever feel better, but she kept forging ahead.
In March 2024, as track practice began, she attended daily to support her teammates even though she couldn’t compete. She concentrated on pacing and building stamina, and her coaches encouraged her to go at her own pace. Gianna felt better by the end of April and reached a major milestone: She started jogging again.“It felt like she made the turn and was on the upswing,” Jackie said. “Then our focus became: What can we do to make sure she doesn’t do too much?”
Long COVID, the condition where symptoms that surface after recovering from COVID-19 linger for weeks, months or even years, is still a mystery to doctors and researchers. The symptoms, such as chronic pain, brain fog, shortness of breath, chest pain and intense fatigue, can be debilitating. Severe cases of long COVID can even affect the body’s organs. But imaging tests don’t always show the origins of those symptoms. And we still don’t know why only some people develop the condition or why others can get it after a mild COVID infection.
Eric Robinette, MD,
gave Gianna two precious gifts: a diagnosis and hope that she’d get better.
Sports rehab
Physical Therapist Nicole Bonenberger works with Gianna on core strength and stability.
Sports medicine specialist Chris Liebig, MD, who previously treated Gianna for an ankle problem, referred her to Michelle Levitt, MD, whose focus is sports health and performance. “I believe COVID hit Gianna so hard because her body was run down due to low energy availability,” Dr. Levitt explained. “This is when an athlete is under-fueling – unintentionally in Gianna’s case – and doesn’t have enough energy available to meet the physical needs of the body for health, growth and development, and the demands of the sport. This was especially true for Gianna as a multisport athlete.”
Dr. Levitt taught Gianna the right way to fuel her body, starting with a base of adequate calories and hydration. “We then worked on ‘finding the fit’ for her – what worked well for her body before, during and after training sessions or competitions,” Dr. Levitt said. “Sleep is also vital to the healing process of the mind and body. We made sure Gianna had a solid nighttime routine to allow her brain to move out of ‘fight or flight’ mode and into ‘rest and digest’ mode.”
Dr. Robinette stayed on top of Gianna’s progress, affirming everything Gianna was doing would help her long-term goal of returning to sports. “We went to so many Akron Children’s facilities – from Warren to Beachwood to the Akron and Boardman campuses. We were so fortunate to have a team of doctors and specialists caring for Gianna,” Jackie said. “We’ve always used Akron Children’s because they specialize in kids. They have taken great care of Gianna and her twin sister, Ava, over the years.”
Conditioning for the fall cross-country season started in June. “We met with her coaches and shared a specific conditioning plan she received from her physical therapists,” Jackie said. “Everyone encouraged Gianna to have the mindset that her first cross-country race is just like practice. We didn’t want her pushing herself too hard and having a setback. But it was an important race for more reasons than one.”
Gianna was eager for cross-country season to start. “Before I got sick, I dreaded every race because I was so run down,” she shared. “When I got back, I was so excited for every race.” She finished every cross-country race of the 2024 season – and earned second-team all-conference honors!
After months of feeling unhealthy and countless medical appointments, Jackie and Gianna learned a lot from the experience. “I listen more to both of my girls when they are not feeling well, and I learned a lot about how to help them get proper rest and nutrition,” Jackie said. “This situation also taught me to be more mindful about what people may be going through. They may look OK on the outside, but they may be suffering on the inside.”
For Gianna, overcoming long COVID made her a stronger person. “I feel like I can stand up for myself and have more confidence,” she shared. “I no longer settle for mediocrity and have my priorities set. I know the importance of taking care of myself.”
This experience also solidified an idea Gianna had about what to do after high school. “Before I got sick, I thought about going to college to study dietetics,” she said. “Now I’m really interested in the field and want to work with athletes.”
Gianna’s comeback is a testament to how focused she was on getting better. “She was patient, and she listened to her providers throughout the process,” Dr. Robinette said. “She was determined to get better; she had such grit. I’m excited to see what happens next for her.”
Gianna’s battle against long COVID made her stronger and more confident.
From inspiring stories, to medical miracles, the More childhood, pleaseTM magazine will make you appreciate those precious 6,574 days of childhood.
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