Christine
2 years since diagnosis
Age at interview: 58
Christine has been living with on-going COVID symptoms (e.g., brain fog, vertigo, fatigue, anxiety, pain in body) since her initial infection in early 2020. Some symptoms come and go, while others have gotten better with time. Christine has faced many challenges with long-COVID including driving long hours to doctor appointments (she lives remotely), finding health care professionals who acknowledge that she has long-COVID, and dealing with anxiety (something she has not experienced before). Despite the challenges, Christine has reflected on some positive aspects of her experience. For example, going through this experience has helped her learn how to be more empathetic towards others, find ways to slow down her fast paced life, and develop different ways of teaching and interacting with students in her class. Moving forward, Christine has hope that she will get better and wishes that more health care professionals become open to learning from their patients about what this experience is like to provide better care and resources. She also hopes that public health and policy makers take into consideration that long-COVID is always evolving and to ensure that any policies created use flexible language that take this into consideration.
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- Additional Supports Needed for People Living with Long COVID – ChristineChristine wishes there was more information about long COVID specifically for employers.
- Support from Employers, Colleagues, and Worker’s Compensation Boards – ChristineChristine is only allowed to use her sick days midweek even though a Monday or Friday would give her more recovery time.
- Advice to Healthcare Providers – ChristineChristine describes the potentially serious impacts of an insensitive conversation on a patient.
- Impacts on Partners and Households – ChristineChristine worries that she is often too sore to welcome physical contact from her husband.
- Support from family and friends – ChristineChristine’s sister criticized her for the way she was caring for their mother, and accused her of being selfish and abandoning their mother.
- Navigating the system – ChristineSometimes you don’t know about the helpful services that are out there, says Christine.
- Impact on professional life and career – ChristineChristine was so caught-up in caring for her mother that she never resolved her employment situation.
- Impact on health – ChristineChristine was so exhausted that she reached a point where she considered suicide.
- Hospitals and facilities – ChristineChristine realized she had to leave her mother’s home to protect herself. When she left, her mother moved to a care facility.
- Home care and live-in caregivers – ChristineInteraction with the home care staff was difficult for Christine’s mother as she kept meeting new people.