The Adamses reported mild symptoms, isolating at home as recommended by their doctors. After the isolation period ended and symptoms subsided, they moved on with the rest of their lives. The bounce-back wasn't as simple for Chavez Adams. Three weeks later, he started to lose momentum.


"I do this trail, it's like a five- or six-mile trail. I do it with my dog. I do it all the time and usually, it's like 45 minutes but this time, I had to call Ashley to come pick me up," he said. The two went directly to urgent care where Chavez Adams' temperature was 105. They went to the ER in Cary. "Took his temperature again: super high," Ashlea Adams said. "Did chest X-ray, drew blood, found haze in his lungs."

Chavez Adams was given pain medication and then sent home, he said. The family would make at least four more trips to the ER and hospitals before trying WakeMed in Apex. A nurse there noticed his extremely high heart rate and admitted him immediately. "His blood pressure bottomed out. His organs started to fail. His cardiac output was extremely low. His heart was failing. They put in a heart pump to save his life," Ashlea Adams recounted.

With his wife by his side, Chavez Adams, a lawyer, spent nearly a week in ICU. According to his medical team, the diagnosis wasn't COVID. In fact, he tested negative. Chavez was suffering from myocarditis, a life-threatening after-effect from the novel coronavirus.