Long COVID is a topic that many folks don’t quite grok. Still more think it’s a bunch of hypochondriacs who want attention. I can assure you the cases I have met, this is not the case.
In the Winter of 2023 I got COVID, which led to my wife catching it. Since I gave my wife this illness, she has had long COVID. Initially, she had cardiac symptoms, her heart raced to over 160 bpm while doing a puzzle. Things have become much more complicated since that episode.
That was just a little background of what folks who suffer from Long COVID have to endure. Many suffer much worse side effects after catching COVID.
Long COVID’s Financial Impact
Getting back on to a more financial side of things, how might this impact victims?
This condition becomes a disability to the person afflicted with it.
- They have limited energy in a day. They are done for the day once they have used up that allotment.
- Cognitive dissonance is also a problem, they can’t remember things, and have a hard time doing tasks they could easily do previously.
- In many cases, there is minimal sympathy from their employers. Not a great deal of sympathy from friends and family either.
- The Canadian Medical system is still overrun with COVID cases due to funding issues, so there is not enough help for folks with the condition.
My wife has been lucky. Her employer has been sympathetic to her issues, and inability to work complete work days. She has finally got into a support program through the Heart Institute in Ottawa, but that program is woefully underfunded but does their best.
An inability to work full time (or part-time) is demolishing one of the pillars of your financial life. Without income, you are in deep trouble. Does disability insurance cover this? I am not sure, but you would hope that might be the case. Proving you have extended COVID symptoms is not very easy.
Drag Yourself Into Work
In my wife’s case, she can get herself into work and work her regular hours. Her hours are part-time, luckily. This means she can work her regular hours now, however that does mean she is spent by the time her workday is done. She arrives home, with little or no energy to do anything.
For folks who are working full time, how do they cope? Many cannot and have either had to decrease their working hours or take a leave (or quit).
Medical Response
There are very few treatments for Long COVID. The only thing medicine can do is monitor those afflicted with the condition. They can attempt to treat some symptoms, but there are no treatments or cures for the complete condition.
Medicine monitors the condition because the symptoms and problems continue to change for many sufferers. New symptoms appear, sometimes old symptoms dissipate. In some cases, folks recover and seem to be back to normal. The question then is what is their Normal? Many times Normal for these folks who have recovered is not being able to do everything they could previously.
Financial Responses
In many cases victims will dip into their short-term and long-term savings. In many cases this is the only way many can survive financially. Still others will end up having to talk to folks like our friends at Hoyes Michalos or other Licensed Bankruptcy trustees.
Given the levels of inflation and interest rates, it does not take long to end up in dire financial straits.
Easy Solutions
I have no easy solutions to propose. My wife continues to learn what she can and cannot do. She is learning how to live with the condition. We hope to find solutions, or interim steps so she can do more, but we are not optimistic.
It is unfortunate that based on your latest post “February’s Finest Financial Fables”, you still see that this discussion “…then turned into an odd discussions about vaccines and such? No, that was not the point.”. And it is unfortunate that my last reply to bigcajunwife did not get posted, as it was in direct response to the closing of this article, “We hope to find solutions, or interim steps so she can do more, but we are not optimistic.”, and showed that it was not all about vaccines, but addressed the context of the impact of all related effects of COVID too. It is unfortunate that you only see the one side of the discussion.
Still wishing her all the best in her recovery.
P.S. I am sorry that my initial question put you off. Maybe a different phrasing might have been better received?
It should not take away from the information I have submitted.
Not that it is necessarily the case but you do realize that vaccine injury is a very real and frequent thing, especially with these injections?
BTW, I do not know which applies in your case but if you had bothered to check, you would notice that the protocols cover both potential vaccine side effects and long COVID. So it covers both scenarios.
Sorry for trying to help.
Wow! Are you so wound up that you cannot recognize when someone is simply trying to help?
There was no judgment in my comments. Just some possibly useful info. I guess it’s not worth trying then. Do with it what you will.
Are you aware that many people have suffered heart problems as a result (among many other serious medical conditions)?
Not sure if it would help, but if you are interested, you might want to look into these 2 recovery protocols:
https: //covid19criticalcare.com/protocol-categories/ recovery/
Interesting phraseology you have. You are implying I am stupid for not having read the documentation available from some of the more interesting sites. So you are about to imply this was due to either big pharmaceutical or my own inept understanding of things? Does that sum up, where your commentary might be heading? If so, let’s just stop it here. Thanks.
Sorry, but I’ll trust my family doctor, my cardiologist, my hematologist, my gastroenterologist, my respiratory therapist, and the Ottawa Heart Institute for my medical advise. All agree, there is no quick fix. I am learning to cope with my symptoms, and finding ways to live the new normal.
Asking if I’ve been vaccinated “to protect me from Covid” ( yes, 6 times) and then turning around and recommending “recovery protocols” as I maybe vaccine injured is inappropriate in this forum. At no point did the article ask for advise or suggestions, it was simply about the cost of having someone with a long-term illness, that is not widely understood, and still be studied.
bigcajunwife
Didn’t she get vaccinated to protect her from COVID?
Yes she in fact had 4 vaccinations, and had had one 3 weeks before, why do you ask?