Violaine says the person she was no longer exists.
Transcript
Actuellement, je suis une personne radicalement différente de celle que j’étais avant de contracter la COVID puis de développer la COVID longue. C’est très difficile pour moi de regarder des enregistrements que j’ai faits pour mes étudiants, par exemple, avant d’être malade. Ou de regarder des entrevues que j’ai données, c’est bouleversant! Parce que je sais que je suis devenue l’ombre de cette personne-là que j’étais. Je pense vraiment que je ne pourrai plus la redevenir cette personne-là. Que je dois en faire le deuil.
[Right now, I’m a radically different person than I was before I contracted COVID and then developed long COVID. It’s very difficult for me to watch recordings I made for my students, for example, before I got sick. Or to watch interviews I’ve given, it’s overwhelming! Because I know I’ve become a shadow of the person I used to be. I really think that I’ll never be able to become that person again. That I have to mourn.] Translation from original French.
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- Advice to Others Living With Long COVID – ViolaineViolaine encourages people to challenge healthcare providers giving inappropriate advice.
- Advice to Policy Makers – ViolaineViolaine 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 – ViolaineViolaine is involved in many forms of advocacy work despite having very little energy to spare.
- Impacts on Work and Career – ViolaineFor Violaine, the loss of her career is like a bereavement.
- Impacts on Work and Career – ViolaineViolaine badly wants to carry on teaching.
- Coping Strategies and Self Care – ViolaineViolaine finds that mediation allows her to switch off her brain.