As a recent graduate of the University of Southern California (USC), Morgan Stephens was about to embark on her dream job in New York City when her life was upended by COVID-19 in late 2020. In a brief interview with CBS Los Angeles, Stephens shares the story of her recovery through the school’s Keck COVID Recovery Clinic, and offers encouragement to fellow sufferers.*

Nearly losing hope

Stephens contracted the virus in November 2020 after moving back home to North Carolina during the height of the pandemic. After several weeks, she began experiencing odd and severe symptoms (sensitivity to light and sound, difficulty communicating, etc.), which rapidly progressed. 

By January 2021, Stephens was suffering from debilitating migraine headaches, continual shaking, exhaustion and depression. “At one point,” she says, “I didn’t think I was going to survive it.” 

She had nearly lost hope when a former professor of hers, Caitlin McAuley, D.O., told her about USC’s Keck COVID Recovery Clinic for people suffering from Long COVID. In desperation, after seeing nearly 30 specialists to no avail, Stephens headed back to Southern California. 

Long COVID unexpected

The clinic has grown quickly, and now sees over 250 Long COVID patients. McAuley, who helps direct the clinic, says that she and her colleagues initially thought that, of people with COVID-19, “maybe 20% would end up in the hospital and maybe 2% would die.” The scope of Long COVID, she says, “is a totally unexpected outcome.”

She adds that, no matter how light the initial infection, we can expect to see more Long COVID cases from every new variant. 

Common symptoms, treatment

Amidst the wide range of symptoms that patients like Stephens present with, the top three symptoms of Long COVID she’s observed are:

• Fatigue,
• Breathlessness, and
• Brain fog.

Based on her work in the clinic, she says, occupational and physical therapy seem to be the most effective treatment modalities she’s seen for Long COVID patients.

Back on track

As for Stephens, a year and a half after starting therapy with the clinic, she still experiences some migraines and vertigo, a sensation that describes as feeling like she’s “on a boat,” but she feels significantly better. At the time of the interview, she was preparing to move with her husband back east to Washington D.C. to continue her career in political journalism. She offers encouragement to others suffering from Long COVID. “As long as you just stay patient,” she says, “hold on, things will get better.”

*CBS Los Angeles. (2022, March 31). Long COVID survivor discusses her journey to recovery thanks to a USC recovery clinic [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8U87t0T_dM