It started when my brain gave out on me in algebra class one January day in 2022. I couldn\u2019t figure out a simple math problem; all I saw were numbers and symbols. My eyelids drooped, my head hurt, I could barely stay awake. Something wasn\u2019t right.<\/p>\n
I hadn\u2019t felt like myself since getting COVID-19 a couple weeks earlier. Simple tasks like reading a text or standing up were draining. But what happened in that classroom scared me. At age 14, my life became a state of constant exhaustion, punctuated by doctors\u2019 visits that, months later, would lead to a Long COVID diagnosis. Still, in those early weeks, I felt determined. I was a high-achieving student athlete always eager to accept a challenge\u2014and I felt confident that I could get past whatever this was quickly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It started when my brain gave out on me in algebra class one January day in 2022. I couldn\u2019t figure out a simple math problem; all I saw were numbers and symbols. My eyelids drooped, my head hurt, I could barely stay awake. Something wasn\u2019t right.<\/p>\n
I hadn\u2019t felt like myself since getting COVID-19 a couple weeks earlier. Simple tasks like reading a text or standing up were draining. But what happened in that classroom scared me. At age 14, my life became a state of constant exhaustion, punctuated by doctors\u2019 visits that, months later, would lead to a Long COVID diagnosis. Still, in those early weeks, I felt determined. I was a high-achieving student athlete always eager to accept a challenge\u2014and I felt confident that I could get past whatever this was quickly.<\/p>\n