Vanessa got COVID two years ago and struggled with pulmonary, cardiac, and neurological issues in the months following her infection. Although some of these issues have resolved, Vanessa still struggles with extreme fatigue and brain fog that we fear is due to brain damage.

Vanessa and many other long COVID children struggle with fatigue and non-restorative sleep in the years following their COVID infection. Even when Vanessa is able to sleep, she wakes up feeling exhausted–no amount of sleep is enough to give her energy. Like many other long COVID children, she cannot push herself to return to health because it will cause her to crash. Vanessa also gets set back by any illness, even a common cold.

Social isolation is one of the biggest challenges for our kids with long COVID, especially those too ill to attend school. Vanessa is extremely isolated and no amount of therapy can help that. We need treatments that can impact children and young adults’ quality of life while we continue to wait and hope for a cure. Clinical trials that explore the use of existing medicines to help mitigate symptoms and enable kids and young adults to attend school as much as they are able are a badly needed first step.

Organizations that support families such as Long COVID Families are also important in providing resources that help us communicate with medical providers and educational support teams.