I have always been an extremely active and healthy person and have never felt, looked, or acted my age. I always took comfort in knowing that I rarely get sick and never have pain. Because I inherited great genes from my mother, I thought I was indestructible. This feeling ended the first week of January 2022. I woke up with the worst headache that I’ve ever had and experienced extreme exhaustion and fatigue. I have never felt so weak. I knew I had COVID-19. It finally caught up with me. I had been lucky, really. I had lived my normal life—I worked, traveled, and socialized as much as possible during the pandemic. Finally, when the omicron variant came through my area, it all came crashing down.
I went from jogging five miles on the treadmill three times a week and walking my dog to lying in bed for hours on end. This became very depressing very quickly. After about three weeks of this I said to myself, I must get up and get back to living. Thank goodness I work from home, and I was still able to do the bare minimum to keep my job. I decided no matter how bad I felt or how awful my headache was, I had to get out of my house.
This experience proved to be very valuable and eye-opening for me. I was able to appreciate how chronically ill people must feel every day. How do people who have cancer, chronic fatigue, or other debilitating illnesses manage their lives? I have been a nurse for over 30 years, and I am supposed to be a patient advocate. Have I really been a patient advocate? Have I really had compassion for patients and experienced in any small way what chronically ill people go through every day? The answer to that was a resounding NO!
I have always been a religious person, but as I continued through this long COVID-19 journey, I began to rely more on prayer and to be thankful for every moment that I am alive and feeling a little better. I vowed to never take good health for granted again. And I thank God every day for waking up, seeing the sun, snuggling with my animals, and just doing normal tasks.
Here are the takeaways that I have learned from during this four-month recovery. Long COVID-19 is real. The fatigue and headache take months to subside. The brain fog is also very real. It is very difficult to concentrate and remember things. I have learned to make lists and put calendars all over my house. The good news is that it gets a little better and a little easier every day.
Setting some boundaries is very important. I have learned to modify my work schedule and to be more realistic about what I can and cannot deliver both professionally and socially. I had to admit that I couldn’t do everything that I normally would commit to and that I needed to create some limits for myself. That was not an easy thing to do.
I also learned that simple things like fresh air, sunshine, exercise, and staying hydrated are extremely important in regaining strength. These simple tasks also decrease depression.
As a nursing professor I began to wonder how my students were affected by long COVID-19. I have become a much more understanding person regarding timelines and flexibility with assignments. I shared my experiences with my work colleagues, and I think these experiences are worth sharing on a larger scale.
If you are someone who had COVID-19 and continue to have lagging fatigue, difficulty concentrating, headache, or any other symptoms that hang around, you could have long COVID-19. I’m here to tell you that it does get better. Just be patient, get plenty of sleep, and try to stay positive. As for me, I have never been so happy to have my energy and strength back. If I can be of any encouragement to others, that will be icing on the cake.
Julie Grissom, PhD, MSN, RN, COI, is a Professor of Nursing at the Purdue University School of Nursing in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. She is a member of Sigma’s Phi Rho Chapter.