Matt became familiar with the harsh realities of long COVID shortly after the pandemic began and has been battling symptoms since April 2020. The 38-year-old New York resident believes he contracted the virus when he went into a department store early in the pandemic before many of the public health mandates were in effect. He was masked; others weren’t. 

Shortly thereafter, he began to experience fever and flu-like symptoms. Unfortunately, testing was scarce at the time, which left him to basically hope that the symptoms would go away on their own. They didn’t. “By June, I still had the same exact symptoms. They didn’t get better at all,” says Matt between coughs and through a noticeably hoarse voice. 

The Search for Answers 

It was at this point that Matt did what anyone would have done: he went to the doctor. Also, like many at the time, however, his symptoms were unfortunately dismissed and misdiagnosed. “She told me my lungs sounded fine and that everyone was really scared about COVID, so she thought I was having a panic attack,” he says. His treatment? Xanax (one of the most commonly abused prescription drugs in the United States). 

Suffice it to say that the anti-anxiety meds he was prescribed did nothing for Matt’s persistent respiratory symptoms. After a visit with another doctor at the same practice, he was given steroids and antibiotics to help improve his breathing. To make matters even more frustrating, both his PCR and antibody tests came back negative, leaving him and his doctors at a loss. 

Frustration, Limbo, and More Symptoms

Matt’s experience with his doctors had left him frustrated and discouraged. “I kind of lost faith in those doctors after that. I wasn’t getting any better, and I just didn’t do anything for a while.” To add to his already life-altering symptoms, he had developed a serious and debilitating sensitivity to light and electronics screens, which nearly cost him his job. A visit to an ophthalmologist yielded little results, “They said that my eyes were just really dry, and there was nothing else wrong with me.” Matt was given eye drops and sent on his way. A study published by the NIH in early 2022 linked COVID-19 to dry eye symptoms. 

Matt’s condition improved a little in the cooler months. “I was actually able to take walks and not feel so sick afterward. My fevers weren’t crazy like they were in summer.” This relief, however, was short-lived. 

Worsening Symptoms and Decline in Quality of Life 

In March of 2021, Matt received his vaccination. He says he’s among the incredibly small percentage of patients who experience adverse effects. “Obviously vaccines are great, but I was just one of the small few that had a bad reaction.” He has been battling a barrage of symptoms for over a year now, including heart pain, fatigue, and more. “I also don’t sweat properly, so in the summer, I’ll get really [bad] heatstroke symptoms,” he says. He went to a cardiologist for the heart issues but was worried that he wouldn’t be able to handle the stress test. 

Matt has also tried a variety of natural remedies and supplements to treat different symptoms, which have yielded mixed results “My condition improved a little and then just kind of plateaued.” He does, however, credit the drops and wipes he received from a naturopathic eye doctor with helping him see screens and handle light. 

The New “Normal”

It’s difficult to distinguish the exact origins and timeline of Matt’s exact symptoms, but it is far too easy to see what they’ve done to his health and quality of life. Before contracting COVID, he was an active 30-something and, at one point, even did the intensely physical work of farming. At least for now, however, he says the virus has turned him into a “hermit”. “I would run two miles every few days. I would do push-ups…I was in good shape. Now I can’t do much.”

Good Days, Silver Linings, and a New Normal

Despite having his life upended by the virus, Matt still possesses a matter-of-fact optimism and an earnest recognition of the good in his life: an understanding boss who allows him to work an abbreviated schedule, a supportive and committed partner who knows what he’s going through, and even some good days where his old routine doesn’t seem so far out of reach. “Some days, I’ll feel almost normal, and I’ll fool myself into thinking I can act like a normal person, but then the heart pain will flare up, and I’ll be homebound for a few days after that.” 

Matt’s brain fog and eye pain have also lessened, and he’s able to occasionally write fiction and casually play and record music, which he did a lot of before the virus took hold. 

What We Owe Matt and Every Other Long-Hauler

The COVID-19 pandemic has reframed reality in terms of “before and after” in practically every area of life, from the institutional to the deeply personal. 

As the world seems determined to move on from the hardship and tragedy of the past two-plus years, millions of long-haulers are stuck between “before” and “after” with regrettably few answers and little support to move forward. 

These individuals include parents, siblings, husbands, wives, athletes, artists, professionals, and all other types of people, and they’d be perfectly happy moving “forward to before,” and to feel like themselves again. As the Federal Government is now starting to devote more research efforts toward long-COVID, exploring possible treatments–rather than just cataloging symptoms–should be a top priority so that Matt and the millions of others like him are no longer stuck between before and after.