Hearts, brains, energy sapped: Long-COVID sufferers beg for answers
https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/he...ong-covid-sufferers-beg-for-answers/19744908/
Even though Angela Hogan and her daughter, Rachel Hogan, were hospitalized with coronavirus more than eight months ago, they're both still struggling with symptoms. They're among the millions of people across the globe who are continuing to experience symptoms of COVID-19, months after their initial infection.
During the day, Angela is so fatigued and dizzy, she can hardly move. Her heart is racing and she has pain in all of her joints.
"I'm actually to the point of getting a cane," Angela, from Asheboro, said. She can hardly stand up straight.
"A lot of us are still suffering, begging for help," she said.
Both of the Hogans were in a COVID ward of a local hospital, in Greensboro, together. Angela almost didn't make it after staying in the hospital for weeks.
"Unfortunately, COVID is something that makes you feel alone," Angela said.
But the two say having each other makes the recovery more bearable.
"She has been my rock," Angela said.
"People don't really get it. They can empathize with it, but they don't understand," Rachel said.
Now, the pair face medical bills they don't have the money to pay — for neurologists, cardiologists and pulmonologists. Neither woman has found many answers in the search for treatment.
"I'm hoping and praying that UNC can help," Angela said. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Medicine opened a coronavirus "long-haul" clinic for patients still experiencing debilitating symptoms after their initial COVID infection. Angela has her first appointment in the fall.
