At 22 years old, Devin Kadis from Colorado thought she had overcome COVID-19 after a period of quarantine and initial recovery. “I definitely was very sick. I was bedridden, I had all the symptoms pretty much besides a fever actually,” she recalls.
However, just as she began to feel better, things took a turn for the worse. “Everything started to go downhill again,” Devin explains. She experienced what she describes as ‘body crashes.’ “I couldn’t move. My friends had to pick me up physically off the ground and put me in bed, and I couldn’t even speak. I was slurring all my words.”
Persistent symptoms like loss of smell, occasional trouble breathing, and brain fog continued to affect her daily life. “I didn’t need the answer; I know there weren’t answers yet, but I just needed somebody to make sure that I was okay,” she says.
Devin’s experience is not isolated. Worldwide, many COVID-19 survivors face lingering symptoms, a condition now known as ‘long COVID.’ Medical facilities globally are beginning to address this syndrome head-on. Doctors are recognizing it as a significant issue as more people recover from COVID-19 but continue to struggle with health problems.
“Long-hauler syndrome is a bizarre, often debilitating by-product of COVID-19,” a medical expert notes. “There’s something that the virus is doing either to the autonomic nervous system or how it’s impacting the heart itself or the other organs as well.”
Medical professionals are employing a variety of approaches to understand and treat long COVID symptoms. Devin underwent a treadmill stress test to determine if heart issues were causing her exercise intolerance—a common post-COVID symptom.
Studies have found that nearly one-quarter of those who contracted COVID-19 experienced at least one new medical condition one month after infection, including individuals who had mild or no symptoms initially. “We have not seen this burden of persistent illness in people who are not hospitalized with this type of respiratory infection previously,” experts say.
Treatment strategies like recumbent exercise, increased fluid intake, and patience are showing promise. “I would definitely say one size doesn’t fit all,” a doctor advises.
For Devin, the journey has been challenging. “I would never want this to happen to anyone else, because it’s been tough,” she admits. Yet, with medical support, she feels hopeful. “The fact that I can work out again, the fact that I can smell again, means that I will be back to normal soon.”
A month after her interview, Devin reports she’s nearly recovered. Her story reflects the resilience of long-haulers worldwide and the importance of continued medical efforts to understand and treat long COVID.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
