If you would like to add your story to our website, send it to Desi at CovidLongHauler2020@gmail.com and we will add it in. We are all in this together!

Member 1

I have had Long COVID since April 2020. It has really been a long haul. As of this writing, it’s been almost 3-1/2 years of struggling each and every day. I have low energy and can only so do much and am pretty fatigued by the end of the day. I don’t necessarily get sleepy, I lack energy and have this empty feeling which makes it hard to get things done. I also have brain “fog.” I call it brain fatigue. In the afternoon, I get this shroud like feeling in the front of my head and it makes me squint my eyes. It is very hard to to anything, focusing and concentrating become really hard and the only thing that gets rid of it is lying down and closing my eyes. After about a 30 to 40 minute nap, it goes away. It’s like I start off my day with a certain level of low energy and then by the end of the day it’s all gone and then I have to start this all over again the next day. As an example, dinner is my hardest meal and I never knew how much energy it took to lean over and then lean back while eating. I have also been experiencing chronic pain since about June 2023 due to neck disc degeneration and that seems to be zapping whatever energy I have. I used to be an active person and could do a lot. I was able to hold down a job and volunteer in many activities in my son’s school. I am not that person anymore and have had to struggle making peace with my limitations and accepting them. Part of me keeps hoping that a cure will be found and that this won’t be a long life condition. Being part of this Support Group has been a life saver and helps me not feel so alone in my daily struggles.

Member 2

I got COVID right before Thanksgiving 2022. My symptoms were stomach upset, nausea, and 24 hour headache (which is back). I tried Tylenol and Paxlovid. I got a Paxlovid rebound infection. I get through the day hour by hour. All of my doctors seem to believe in long covid. I’m just not who I used to be. I never know how I’m going to feel.