Before she got sick with long COVID, Vivien* was at the top of all of her classes at school. She loved playing basketball and netball and running around with her dogs \u2014 she\u2019d even take herself for runs around her family\u2019s sprawling property in regional New South Wales, just for fun. She\u2019s still only 12 but for the longest time Vivien has dreamed of being a vet when she grows up. \u201cAnd she was so social,\u201d her mother Katie* says. \u201cMy husband and I are both introverts. Not V \u2014 she would party every day if she could.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, two years since she caught SARS-CoV-2 for the first time, a \u201cgood day\u201d for Vivien looks nothing like it used to. She\u2019s always exhausted, but her achy limbs might feel less tingly and weak; perhaps her upset stomach is calm, and her brain fog has cleared enough that she can do some school work or call a friend. On a really good day, she can manage a visit with her grandparents, so long as she\u2019s prepared to spend the evening in bed. \u201cLong COVID makes my body feel weak,\u201d Vivien says. \u201cBut I tell myself I am still powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s strong because she has to be. Like many kids with long COVID Vivien has seen a dizzying number of doctors, not all of whom have believed or helped her. She\u2019s made the tricky transition to homeschooling, learned to manage her turbulent symptoms with pacing and medication, cried fat tears of frustration after doing too much and wiping herself out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want people to know that I\u2019m not lying, [long COVID] is real and can happen to anyone,\u201d Vivien says. \u201cI want people to know I\u2019m not just trying to get out of doing school or sport \u2014 I wish I could do sport \u2026 I wish they understood I am just trying to save myself from being stuck in bed in pain for days afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n
*Names have been changed at families\u2019 request so they could speak frankly without fear of reprisal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Before she got sick with long COVID, Vivien* was at the top of all of her classes at school. She loved playing basketball and netball and running around with her dogs \u2014 she\u2019d even take herself for runs around her family\u2019s sprawling property in regional New South Wales, just for fun. She\u2019s still only 12 but for the longest time Vivien has dreamed of being a vet when she grows up. \u201cAnd she was so social,\u201d her mother Katie* says. \u201cMy husband and I are both introverts. Not V \u2014 she would party every day if she could.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, two years since she caught SARS-CoV-2 for the first time, a \u201cgood day\u201d for Vivien looks nothing like it used to. She\u2019s always exhausted, but her achy limbs might feel less tingly and weak; perhaps her upset stomach is calm, and her brain fog has cleared enough that she can do some school work or call a friend. On a really good day, she can manage a visit with her grandparents, so long as she\u2019s prepared to spend the evening in bed. \u201cLong COVID makes my body feel weak,\u201d Vivien says. \u201cBut I tell myself I am still powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s strong because she has to be. Like many kids with long COVID Vivien has seen a dizzying number of doctors, not all of whom have believed or helped her. She\u2019s made the tricky transition to homeschooling, learned to manage her turbulent symptoms with pacing and medication, cried fat tears of frustration after doing too much and wiping herself out.<\/p>\n