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Kiss Off
Facing the Facts and Myths of Mononucleosis
By Kelly Burgess
Sarah Cook is always a little tired after a soccer game, but after one game a couple of years ago, she was so exhausted she couldn't even keep up with her friends at the mall. By the time she got home, she had a high fever and a terrible headache. Her mom, Marcia, assumed she just had a bug and kept her home from school the next day. After a couple of days with no improvement, Marcia, a registered nurse and hospital administrator, suspected mononucleosis and took Sarah for blood tests. Her suspicions were confirmed when the tests came back positive for the virus.
Mononucleosis is a well-known scourge among teenage athletes like Cook, 15, of West Deer, Pa. In fact, she and her friends, like teens around the country, casually refer to it as "mono." It's a condition that affects mostly teenagers, since they're at the prime age for exposure, and can bring a busy teen's life to a screeching halt for up to six weeks.
"Because my spleen was swollen, I wasn't allowed to play soccer," says Cook. "I wanted to just play anyway, but one day when I decided to go to my game just to watch, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep leaning against the fence. I realized that I wasn't really in any shape to be on the field."
Although Cook went back to soccer after a few weeks, she says it was a full year before she felt like she was 100 percent.
