Over the last four years, Angela Meriquez V\u00e1zquez has faced a long list of health scares and conditions, any of which could have had a profound impact on her life individually. From mini-strokes to brain swelling to seizures to painful heart palpitations \u2014 not to mention severe shortness of breath, extreme confusion and numbness in her face \u2014 Vasquez didn\u2019t start to experience these events until after she got infected with COVID-19 in March 2020.<\/p>\n
Prior to the infection, V\u00e1zquez was a healthy runner for nearly 20 years. Today, she is on 12 different prescription medications, including weekly IV treatments at the hospital. She has a \u201cstrict pacing regimen\u201d that allows her to work from home, but not much else. <\/p>\n
\u201cI do not socialize, or enjoy my old hobbies, and I don\u2019t really leave my home, especially now that I am now considered high-risk,\u201d V\u00e1zquez said in a hearing with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, emphasizing that Congress needs to treat long-COVID like the crisis it is. \u201cWe are living through what is likely to be the largest mass disabling event in modern history.\u201d<\/p>\n
V\u00e1zquez was one of three long COVID patients who confronted Congress about the issue for the first time on Jan. 18 in Washington D.C.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over the last four years, Angela Meriquez V\u00e1zquez has faced a long list of health scares and conditions, any of which could have had a profound impact on her life individually. From mini-strokes to brain swelling to seizures to painful heart palpitations \u2014 not to mention severe shortness of breath, extreme confusion and numbness in her face \u2014 Vasquez didn\u2019t start to experience these events until after she got infected with COVID-19 in March 2020.<\/p>\n
Prior to the infection, V\u00e1zquez was a healthy runner for nearly 20 years. Today, she is on 12 different prescription medications, including weekly IV treatments at the hospital. She has a \u201cstrict pacing regimen\u201d that allows her to work from home, but not much else. <\/p>\n
\u201cI do not socialize, or enjoy my old hobbies, and I don\u2019t really leave my home, especially now that I am now considered high-risk,\u201d V\u00e1zquez said in a hearing with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, emphasizing that Congress needs to treat long-COVID like the crisis it is. \u201cWe are living through what is likely to be the largest mass disabling event in modern history.\u201d<\/p>\n
V\u00e1zquez was one of three long COVID patients who confronted Congress about the issue for the first time on Jan. 18 in Washington D.C.<\/p>\n