Karson was 16 years old. A baseball player. A straight-A student. Always moving, always achieving.
One week, he was getting up before school to work out, going to class, hitting baseball practice, then studying late into the night.
The next week? He couldn’t get out of bed.
He was in bed 20 out of 24 hours per day.
The mono virus had hit him like a truck. And it didn’t just knock him down for a few weeks. It left him with chronic fatigue syndrome.
His doctor looked at him and his parents and delivered the timeline: “Five to seven years to recover.”
Karson did the math. He’d be out of high school. Baseball would be over.
“That hit me. Frustration hit me. Everything hit me. I didn’t know if I was ever going to get back to normal.”
This is Karson’s story. How he went from bedbound at 16 to starting pharmacy school at 22. From watching his baseball teammates from the sidelines to playing slow-pitch softball again.
If you’re a student dealing with CFS, if you’re a young athlete who had to quit your sport, if you’re wondering “will I ever get my life back?”, Karson’s journey will show you what’s possible.
When Everything Changes in a Week
Before March 2018, Karson’s life was full.
He was a baseball player. School and baseball were everything to him. He’d wake up early, work out before school, go to class, hit practice, then study.
He was a high achiever. Type A personality. Always pushing.
Then came what the doctors called “the perfect storm”:
- He already had a low immune system
- He’d gotten steroid shots
- He was going through puberty (hormones fluctuating)
- Then he got hit with the Epstein-Barr virus (mono)
It was instant.
One week, fully active. The next week, he couldn’t do anything.
“I was in bed 20 out of the 24-hour days. I could do maybe an hour of school work just to push through and get through that last semester.”
From an active lifestyle to completely dormant. Just like that.
His symptoms:
- Severe fatigue (bedbound 20+ hours/day)
- Brain fog so bad he couldn’t remember TV shows he’d watched
- High heart rate and POTS symptoms
- Insomnia
- Cognitive symptoms that made school brutal
And the two things that defined him? Baseball and school. He had to quit one. He was barely hanging on to the other.
The Diagnosis That Changed Everything
A year into his illness, Karson finally got the official diagnosis: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
His parents took him to a specialist at Duke Medical Center. Finally, someone who understood what this was.
But then came the timeline: “Five to seven years to recover.”
Karson was a sophomore in high school. He did the math.
“I would be out of high school. I knew I wasn’t good enough to play college ball anyway. So that was the end of me playing baseball.”
That night, Karson went fishing. His heart rate was high. It was hot outside. He didn’t care. He just crashed.
That’s when it hit him: his life was going to be different from that point forward.
Watching from the Sidelines
Karson maintained through high school. Barely.
Through medication, he got to a “somewhat balanced” place where he could do school. But it wasn’t really balanced.
His junior year, taking three AP classes:
- He’d be there one day
- Gone the next day
- When people saw him at school, he’d be on the ground taking a nap
- “Is he okay?” “No, it’s fine.”
He numbed himself with entertainment. TV shows he can’t remember now. YouTube videos. Anything to cope with the bad feelings.
But he stayed optimistic. He had to. Otherwise, he would have just stayed in bed.
Then came senior night for baseball.
All his friends who he’d played with since seventh, eighth grade. Growing up together. He watched them play. Watched their senior night.
“It hit me that night. I would have been out there if I had not gotten sick.”
Reality check: his life had gone down a completely different path.
He was sitting on the sidelines of life while everyone else was talking about which university they were going to, where they’d dorm, where they’d travel.
And Karson? He couldn’t even do that if he wanted to.
The Slow Decline Through College
Karson made it through high school. Got into college with scholarships.
Freshman year? He maintained. Still symptomatic but getting by.
Sophomore year? Everything got worse.
Much worse.
His POTS got worse. He had to drop a class. Drop his undergraduate research. Take a semester off campus with just two elective classes to keep his scholarships.
He ended up in the ER multiple times. His body was failing.
“I just couldn’t keep up. I said okay, I gotta stop the amount of schooling I’m doing right now.”
And here’s the thing that makes Karson’s story so relatable for other students and athletes:
He had a strong mindset. Maybe too strong.
He thought he could just push through. Power through the symptoms. Eventually his body would catch up.
But that’s not how CFS works. He drove himself into the ground until he was forced to stop everything.
The Last Option
By the time Karson found CFS Recovery, it was truly the last option.
He’d tried another program (Lime Stop) that helped his heart rate a little but left the fatigue, brain fog, and insomnia.
His parents (both pharmacists who own their own pharmacy) had tried everything. They’d done all the research. They’d thrown every medication at it.
But chronic illness doesn’t work like that. There was no pill to fix this.
Karson had actually found Miguel’s YouTube channel back in 2021 during freshman year. He almost signed up then.
But when he got to the question “Would you be able to put a lot of time into it?”, he was like “I’m full-time in school. I’m crashing. I can’t.”
So he didn’t join.
Looking back, that timing wasn’t right anyway.
Two years later, in May 2023, Karson joined. This time, he had taken time off school. He could give it his full attention.
When he showed his mom the pricing, both his parents (medical professionals, remember) were like:
“What do we have to lose? Let’s do it.”
What Finally Clicked
In those first few months with CFS Recovery, things started making sense.
“Stuff clicked. That’s the biggest thing.”
For the first time, Karson understood WHY he was having the symptoms. And he understood how to make a plan to get better.
“It was a lot simpler than what I thought it would be.”
Here’s what changed everything for Karson:
1. Crashes Weren’t Crashes
Learning that what he thought were crashes were actually “adjustment periods” (APs) and “progress cycles” completely shifted his perspective.
These weren’t setbacks. They were part of the process. They were springboards to the next level.
“It’s all part of the process. That’s what I continued to tell myself.”
2. Symptoms Had Meaning
Every symptom was his nervous system trying to tell him something.
Brain fog? “Your nervous system is saying you don’t have to be articulate all the time. You have to be okay with moments when you’re not the smart kid.”
That hit Karson like a ton of bricks.
He’d always been known as “the smart kid.” One of his defining characteristics. He put massive external pressure on himself to always be articulate, always be smart.
His nervous system was screaming: you don’t have to be perfect all the time.
3. The Perfectionism Problem
Karson’s biggest breakthrough came from addressing his perfectionism.
Whenever he’d take a break or do something “unproductive” like playing video games, negative thoughts would flood in:
“I’m wasting my life. This is unproductive. I should be doing something useful.”
So he did something brilliant:
He intentionally played video games with the goal of having a positive mindset about it.
Every time he felt those negative thoughts creep in, he’d remind himself: “It’s okay to rest. It’s okay to do things I enjoy.”
That exercise got him over his perfectionism complex.
Now he barely plays video games, but it was the perfect tool to break that pattern.
4. Responding Well to APs
Karson broke down responding well into two key things:
First: Emotional response
When an AP hits (you wake up fatigued when you’re usually not, you don’t sleep well), the first thing is your emotional response.
Not frustration. Staying neutral.
“It’s very hard to be positive in those moments. But just being neutral was the key for me.”
Second: Gauging severity
How bad is this AP?
- Really bad? Don’t do anything that day
- Medium intensity? Go for a 5-minute walk instead of 15 minutes
- Mild? Adjust slightly
Learning to gauge severity and adjust accordingly was huge.
5. Having a Plan and Support
Karson worked with Junior as his coach. He had access to messaging five days a week and regular 1-on-1 calls.
“I just needed a plan. I’d tried many plans. I just didn’t have a plan. Junior was always that person I could go to.”
Knowing someone was there who’d been through the exact same illness and recovered? Someone who could adjust the plan in real-time?
That changed everything.
Even when Karson would freak out about missing a meeting and beat himself up, Junior would calmly say: “Dude, calm down. It’s okay. Everyone has those times.”
Having that rock, that stable presence, made all the difference.
The Prophecy That Came True
On Karson’s first call with Miguel in May 2023, Miguel said:
“By the start of the new year, you’ll be at a point of functioning. You’ll be almost healed.”
Karson didn’t believe him. “I didn’t believe you. I’ll be honest. I heard those words. I was like, ain’t no way.”
He thought it would take at least a year, year and a half.
Miguel was right.
By January 2024, Karson was functionally doing things on a regular basis.
“You were like prophesying almost. And I don’t know, that’s just crazy.”
Life Now: From Bedbound to Crushing It
Fast forward to today. Karson is 22 years old.
Here’s what a typical week looks like:
- Monday: Normal day
- Tuesday: Worked all day, then played a softball game
- Wednesday: Worked all day, then went to church
“I did that without any thought. Sometimes I forget that I’m sick. Sometimes I forget I even had symptoms in the first place.”
He’s working part-time. Playing slow-pitch softball with his church (full circle moment from having to quit baseball). Playing pickleball. Running.
When he runs now, he worries about shin pain. Not fatigue. Not heart rate spikes.
Normal problems. That’s the dream.
And in August? He’s starting pharmacy school.
The kid who was bedbound 20 hours a day. Who was told it would take 5-7 years to recover. Who had to quit baseball and could barely make it through high school.
He’s starting pharmacy school.
The New Version of Karson
The 2.0 version of Karson is different.
He’s more laid back. More chill. More relaxed.
“Anything could happen to me now and it’s not the end of the world.”
He sees people get so frustrated over small things and thinks: “You’re healthy. You’re alive. There’s nothing to truly stress about.”
Going through CFS gave him perspective.
He’s more patient with baseball/softball now. More analytical about life. Less reactive to mood swings.
“I see people complain and I’m like… you have no idea.”
He also realizes this whole process was a gift.
“I literally believe this whole process is a gift. I’m still holding my breath like this is a dream that came true and I’m living it.”
Golden Nuggets from Karson’s Recovery
If Karson could share his top lessons with someone in the thick of it right now:
“It’s All Part of the Process”
During APs, during setbacks, during moments of doubt: it’s all part of the process.
Even that very first AP, all the knowledge went out the window. Karson was like “Oh my gosh, is this program not working? Did I waste my money?”
Then he remembered: “Wait. This IS part of the process.”
“Doing Something Is Better Than Nothing”
Karson used to be black and white. Either do nothing or do way too much way too fast.
Learning the gray area? Learning to do SOMETHING even when it’s small?
That was huge.
Keep It Simple
Unlike his usual self (he goes to the nth degree learning everything), Karson kept recovery simple.
He didn’t watch a ton of videos. He showed up to integration calls. Had his 1-on-1s. Asked questions when needed.
“I really kept it simple with this process, which is unlike me.”
Learn to Be Okay with Resting
“If you can’t learn to be okay with resting, then you’re not going to be able to get anything done.”
All those negative thoughts during rest? They cause a further spiral down.
Get Involved in Community
Karson regrets not posting more in the community. But the group calls? Those were huge.
Sharing wins made his symptoms go down. Listening to other people’s questions taught him things he didn’t even know he needed to know.
“Get the full experience. Post on a regular basis.”
For Students and Athletes
Karson’s message to young people dealing with CFS is powerful:
“Healing is possible.”
He knows what it’s like to watch a testimonial and think “That’s great for them, but there’s no way it would work for me. Mine’s just way too severe. Mine’s different.”
But it worked for him. It’s worked for hundreds of others.
“If you’re up against that brick wall and you don’t know what else to do, do this program. Please.”
And coming from someone heading to pharmacy school, someone who believes in traditional medicine:
“I also believe there are alternative ways to get better, and this is one of them. Your brain’s a powerful thing. You can use it for your benefit and not against you.”
The Investment That Changed Everything
When asked if it was a good investment, Karson didn’t hesitate:
“Yes. Absolutely. It was the best money that I spent. Or my mom and dad spent.”
His parents, both pharmacists with medical backgrounds, agreed. When they had exhausted every medical option, when traditional medicine had no answers, this was the path that worked.
Not because it’s magic. Not because it’s a miracle cure.
Because it addresses the root cause: the dysregulated nervous system.
Your Next Step
Karson went from bedbound 20 hours a day to starting pharmacy school. From quitting baseball to playing softball again. From barely making it through high school to crushing college and moving forward with his life.
He was 16 when this started. 22 when he got his life back.
Six years of struggling. But only 7-8 months from joining the program to being functionally recovered.
If you’re a student, an athlete, a young person watching your peers move forward while you’re stuck:
We’ve helped hundreds of students and young people recover and get back to their studies, their sports, their lives.
Here’s what you get:
- Personalized recovery plan that works with your school schedule
- 1-on-1 coaching with someone who’s been through this
- Access to chat support 5 days a week for adjustments
- Community of other students and young people who understand
- Data-driven tracking so you can see objective progress
- Tools to respond to symptoms while keeping up with life
This isn’t about managing CFS through college. It’s about closing that chapter and moving forward.
Visit cfsrecovery.com/apply and book a free call. We’ll show you exactly how this works for students.
Not ready yet? Download the free Recovery Science Blueprint to understand the nervous system science behind CFS recovery.
Drop a comment below: Are you a student or young person dealing with CFS? What part of Karson’s story resonates with you?
Always remember that you are a thriver and you are just one mind shift away from living life with thriving health.
About Karson Todd:
Karson is a 22-year-old from Conway, South Carolina who developed severe CFS at age 16 after contracting mono. He went from being a high-achieving baseball player and student to being bedbound 20 hours per day, forcing him to quit baseball and barely make it through high school. After 6 years of struggling and trying multiple treatments (including other recovery programs), he joined CFS Recovery in May 2023. Within 7-8 months, he was functionally recovered. Today, Karson plays slow-pitch softball, works part-time, exercises regularly, and is starting pharmacy school in August 2024. His parents are both pharmacists who own their own pharmacy.
About the Author:
Miguel Bautista is the founder of CFS Recovery and a fully recovered CFS survivor. After four and a half years severely ill (often bedridden, unable to remember his own address), Miguel achieved full recovery using nervous system regulation and neuroplasticity techniques. He now helps thousands worldwide recover from CFS, Long COVID, and fibromyalgia through the science-backed CFS Recovery System.
Let me know if you need anything else!