'There's no end in sight': Road to recovery complicated for COVID 'long-haulers'
It was nearly a year and a half ago, in January of 2020, that Coty Powall of Oromocto, N.B., contracted what she and her doctors believe to have been a very early, and serious case of COVID-19.
"When I would cough, it felt like I had glass in my chest," says Powall, "I could barely take breaths at all."
Today, the 40-year-old home daycare operator is still dealing with the after-effects of the illness, many months later – suffering from severe symptoms that include intense pain, fatigue, numbness, and insomnia.
"The after effects are worse than the actual illness was, and there's no end in sight at this point," says Powall.
"I'm terrified to go off of this medication, because all it's doing at this point is suppressing this pain."
While they may be considered to be recovered from the virus, many, like Powall report lingering and often debilitating post-COVID symptoms.
"I hit a wall on July 3 (2020) and I had this huge wave of fatigue hit me, I did not even understand what was going on," says Jennifer Mont of Halifax, who is also dealing with lasting health issues that have persisted long after getting the virus.
"My cough came back, my chest pains came back –that was one of the other things I was experiencing with my time with COVID, I was experiencing some intense chest pains."
An online support group for COVID-19 'long-haulers' in Canada has now reached nearly 14,000 members – offering support and connection for a condition that is still not well understood.
Researchers at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B., are among those studying to learn more about the long-term health effects and complications from the COVID-19 virus.
The most important finding so far, biology professor Vett Lloyd says, is that the evidence validates what patients have been saying.
"They are very ill, they have multi-system symptoms, pretty much everything is affected – it can be debilitating and it can be ongoing, in some cases it can be worse than their experience with acute COVID," says Lloyd.
The research to date also reveals that the road to recovery for those dealing with long COVID, can be winding.
"With some people, they get better then they get worse. Some people it's very much a relapsing and remitting pattern, other people get a little bit better then plateau, other people they get better – it just takes a long time."
Lloyd says the study is ongoing and they will continue until there is a solution for those who are sick. The study, is called Chronic Complications of COVID-19 and is available online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.