A local Navy recruiter credits a Stanford neurologist for saving lives from complications from COVID-19.
Navy Counselor First Class John Meehan returned to the New England Institute for Neurology and Headaches at Stanford on Monday for a special thank you ceremony.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the Navy,” Meehan said.
“We would like to thank Dr. Peter McAllister and Stephanie Ricardo for the exemplary care provided to Navy Counselor First Class John Meehan from April 2022 to the present,” said Navy Lieutenant Matthew Bolton.
In November 2020, Meehan was hit hard by COVID.
He has been admitted twice to Griffin Hospital for the disease.
“The doctor said this is stress, this is anxiety. I’ve never felt stress or anxiety like this before, so I was confused,” Meehan said. .
So Meehan contacted McAllister, whom he had met years earlier with a bout of Lyme disease.
“They got me here right away. I met Dr. McAllister and thankfully he saved my life,” Meehan said.
“He couldn’t really think straight. He couldn’t really write straight. He was feeling depressed like he’d never experienced in his life.
McAllister ran a battery of tests and diagnosed Meehan as having COVID-19 for a long time.
“We found inflammatory markers in his spinal fluid, and when we did a biopsy, we found abnormal nerves,” McAllister said.
McAllister used drugs and treatments to get Meehan back to normal. Nearly a year later, Meehan says she feels about 80%. He has returned to his job as a Navy recruiter at Stanford and is very grateful to his primary care physician.
“I owe my life, so everything – 100%. I can’t thank you enough,” Meehan said.
McAllister said the long-term COVID is a huge problem. He says there are some indications that patients may be more susceptible to dementia later in life.
