Doctors gave Jerry Guerinot less than a 5% chance of surviving COVID-19. When he left the ICU at Houston Methodist Hospital after 35 days, his breathing was still labored, and he couldn’t even sit up in bed, much less walk, for another three months. 

Four weeks after being discharged he was back in the hospital, suffering from bronchitis, bacterial and viral pneumonia, and other Long COVID symptoms. That months-long journey was the worst period of his life, he says. 

After the second hospitalization, which was not his last, he went to The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR). That’s when things started turning around for him.*

Beyond Healing the Body

At TIRR, Dr. Nikola Dragojlovic, of UTHealth Houston, along with the rehab’s physical therapists, helped Guerinot regain his mobility, strength, and stamina.

Still, physical health is only one aspect of wellness, notes Dragojlovic. There are many Long COVID patients, he says, who continue to suffer from depression and anxiety, even as their bodies heal. 

Acting on the theory that if a patient’s mental health improves, their physical health will follow, doctors are experimenting with mind-body therapies to ease Long COVID recovery.

Dr. Lorenzo Cohen, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, has used yoga therapy with cancer patients for over 20 years. According to Cohen, yoga has been shown to help improve a number of symptoms that cancer patients share with Long COVID patients, including pain, brain fog, and chronic fatigue. Yoga, he says, can:

• Help regulate stress hormones, 
• Reduce sleep problems, and 
• Manage fatigue. 

Cohen is currently leading a study with a yoga group and Long COVID patients at UTHealth. “If you were to just have somebody do breathing exercises without incorporating aspects of relaxation,” he warns, “it may actually lead to more anxiety.” 

As for Guerinot, he says he owes his improvement so far to his wife and to the team at TIRR. Though his recovery is not yet complete, his experience at TIRR has left him feeling encouraged. “I’m going to keep doing what I can to give me the best chance to recover fully,” he says. “I have hope for that.” 

*Love, C. (2022, May 6). Treating the mind may help treat the body in long-COVID patients. Houston Public Media.  https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/in-depth/2022/05/06/424383/what-we-know-now-treating-the-mind-may-help-treat-the-body-in-long-covid-patients/