Though COVID-19 may have retreated to the periphery of some lives for now, for tens of millions across the world it remains a stubborn, life-changing illness. Rather than the usual days or weeks that it typically takes to beat the coronavirus, those suffering with “long COVID” endure the sickness for several weeks, months or even years.
“The first couple of days I had what I assume is the normal COVID experience for the majority of people, and I started getting better,” says Victoria Radonicich, a 27-year-old nurse in Ontario who contracted the disease in January 2022. “But then on day 10 my lungs suddenly collapsed and I was left gasping for air. That's when my long-COVID journey started.”
When she returned to her job as a frontline nurse in a pediatric unit in April, Radonicich suffered a major setback that erased most of her recovery. It left her unable to walk, sleep or make her own meals. Now, months later, she’s once again made small steps toward progress. But her life remains a shadow of what it was before.
