In Response to: Keys to understanding long COVID

Dear Editor,

I tested positive on November 4, 2020. Election day in Montana. I spent twelve days virtually bed bound. When my sense of smell came back, I figured I was over the worst.

Three months after, it began to hit in terrifying waves. I was 22. But if I climbed or skied too hard, picked up too many shifts, or didn’t rest, my body would scream at me. When I tried to move, my brain blurred. My limbs felt like wet cement. No matter how much I slept, it wouldn’t go away.

When the wave came, I couldn’t work. I could barely move. Thankfully all my classes were over zoom so I was able to graduate still.

Six doctors over two years said I was depressed. Six months after graduating, my fatigue forced me to stop working at the climbing gym; I moved back home to Oregon. My vitamin B12 was inexplicably low. A month after turning 24, I was reinfected with Covid during my treatment, despite being fully vaccinated.

A month after, I began to develop uncontrollable muscle twitching, weakness, and jerks. My fatigue was worse. Flashing lights and floaters took over my vision. Another month later, my heart would palpitate and drop below 50 beats per minute. My body ached constantly.

An article published by the Washington Post revealed I had Long Covid. After three years of being told by multiple doctors that they didn’t know why a former athlete and journalist could barely make it through the day, I had my answer. However, there is still no cure and no treatment available.

I am a 25-year-old female and considered disabled.

– Emma Smith