Manitoba woman seeking help for long COVID finds hope at Alberta clinic
CBC
Kristy Nickel got sick with COVID-19 in November 2020.
Days passed, then weeks — and it was clear she wasn't getting better.
"I just didn't recover," the 42-year-old registered nurse from St. Andrews, Man., said. "I just couldn't get myself back to normal."
Like so many others, she is now living with long COVID.
For more than a year, Nickel, who was active before she got COVID-19, has struggled with lingering effects of the illness, such as shortness of breath, extreme fatigue and constant headaches.
She saw a family physician, got referrals to specialists and took part in a rehabilitation program at the Wellness Institute at Seven Oaks General Hospital, which included seeing an occupational therapist and physiotherapist.
But when her second attempt at returning to work failed, she decided she needed more.
Nickel found a long COVID clinic run by an internal medicine physician in Alberta willing to take her as a patient.
"What I find here so far in Manitoba is we have focus on management of our symptoms, which is needed and it definitely helped me," said Nickel. "But there was nothing that I found that was looking into … why my body was like this."
She isn't the only Manitoban with long COVID looking for answers and treatment.
Doctors Manitoba president Dr. Candace Bradshaw said family physicians like her are seeing more patients presenting with long COVID symptoms, and finding help is a challenge.
"As a family physician we always want to either have one of two things happen: we either have the answer for a patient, or we can say, 'I don't have the answer but I know where to send you to get answers' — and right now, neither exist," said Bradshaw.
Shared Health just recently launched online resources about long COVID care for Manitoba patients and physicians.
A spokesperson for the provincial health organization said patients with long COVID can see a health-care provider, such as a family physician, and be referred to specialists or existing clinics if needed.
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