Violaine

2 years since diagnosis

Age at interview: 48

Violaine caught COVID in the fall of 2020. The first day after her isolation period she was unable to finish her a neighbourhood walk as she got exhausted. Since then she has experienced more and more limitations due to her symptoms. She loved her work, students and colleagues but was unable to continue her teaching literature at a CEGEP as she experienced exhaustion and trouble speaking. Now, in the second year after her infection, she starts experiencing sensitivity to light, noise, movements around her and spends more and more time in a quiet room. Violaine has tried to contribute to improved care for patients with long COVID as she participated in many different research studies. She thinks there is an overall lack of specialized services for long COVID patients in her province and worries that certain experimental approaches may even have an adverse effect on the already fragile state of patients. Violaine describes a mourning process of loosing her old self and trying to adjust to the new reality. Despite this difficult process she continues to keep hope for better treatments in the future.

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More content

• Tests and Investigations – Violaine
  Violaine feels "disoriented" because she has no idea what's causing her symptoms despite undergoing a battery of tests.
• Symptoms of Long COVID – Violaine
  Violaine went from reading philosophy to being unable to place a grocery order.
• Complementary and Alternative Care – Violaine
  Violaine got relief from some of her symptoms by stimulating her vagus nerve. She wished the health system would incorporate such treatments more routinely.
• Recovery and Thoughts About the Future – Violaine
  Violaine finds it challenging to cope with both the present and an unknown future.
• Advice to Others Living With Long COVID – Violaine
  Violaine encourages people to challenge healthcare providers giving inappropriate advice.
• Advice to Policy Makers – Violaine
  Violaine feels that public health buried its head in the sand and that the lack of female decision makers is partly the reason.
• People with Long COVID Advocating for Themselves – Violaine
  Violaine is involved in many forms of advocacy work despite having very little energy to spare.
• Impacts on Work and Career – Violaine
  For Violaine, the loss of her career is like a bereavement.
• Impacts on Work and Career – Violaine
  Violaine badly wants to carry on teaching.
• Coping Strategies and Self Care – Violaine
  Violaine finds that mediation allows her to switch off her brain.