Long COVID patient says province not doing enough for people with the condition

A Petit-Rocher woman in her early 50s who's had long COVIDsince the winter of 2021 says she's not sure whether the province's new online resource for people with her condition will be helpful.

"In my condition, I can tell you it wouldn't have helped at all," said Sonia Aub, who contracted COVID-19 during the Delta wave, while working at a nursing home that had an outbreak.

Afterwards, Aub said, she became too exhausted and depressed and couldn't think clearly enough to use a self-help website.

"I needed someone to hold my hand and tell me where do we go with this."

The province launched a web page about a week ago that describes the symptoms of post-COVID-19 condition, offers self-care tips and advises anyone needing more help to contact their health-care provider.

Aub said the list of symptoms is an exact description of what she's living with exhaustion, trouble breathing, thinking and sleeping, muscle and joint pain, loss of smell and taste, anxiety and depression.

She said she's found a measure of control thanks to getting "excellent care" since April, from a team of professionals, including an occupational therapist, physiotherapist, psychologist, family doctor and long-term care program co-ordinator.

Now that she understands what's going on, she's become attuned to warning signs and knows when she has to slow down and do breathing exercises.

"It's getting there," she said.

The days are better than they were a year ago. The best strategy she's found is to pace herself. Without it, she "wouldn't be able to function at all."

'Life is changed'

She was able to return to work as a social worker in August but said she is only able to do a small part of what she used to do, including 15 hours per week in the field.

Aub said who she is today bears little resemblance to the person she used to be.

"Life is changed and I don't know if it will ever come back," she said.

She still has trouble expressing herself out loud, gets discouraged and lacks confidence.

When she gets too tired, she loses her senses of smell and taste again.

Panic attacks and palpitations come on "really easily," she said.

"I'm still scared of what's going to happen to me next."

She has to constantly reorganize her days and let a lot of things go.

She's made charts to track her symptoms totry to avoid triggering the most severe ones.

Aub said the government doesn't seem to be doing enough tracking of its own to understand the bigger picture.

The Health Department said it doesn't track cases because there's no identified diagnostic marker so it would be hard to get accurate numbers.

"We don't know who they are and to what extent their conditions are," said Aub.

She wonders whether she may be worse off than others because she was unvaccinated at the time of infection or because she was infected with the Delta variant.

"Nowadays we have the Omicron. Is this as bad? You know, we've got to compare. We've got to see where they're at and what they need."

Feels diagnosis seems to be downplayed

The Health Department said it's working with the regional health authorities to assess whether care needs to be strengthened or adapted based on emerging evidence.

CBC News asked the Health Department if it had a response to Aube's assessment that the web page wouldn't have helped her, her concerns around a lack of tracking, and her claims that it took support from a team of professionals toget her back to work.

In a statement from the department, spokesperson Adam Bowie wrote: "The Department of Health is aware that some citizens have been affected by Post COVID-19 Condition. Thanks for sharing this woman's experience.

"If an individual is experiencing symptoms of this condition, they should consult their primary care provider, or call 811 to speak with a registered nurse about their next steps. This will ensure they can be connected to a variety of professionals who can support them on their path to recovery."

The statement also directed people to the website.

Since she contracted COVID-19 on the job, Aub filed a claim with WorkSafeNB. She said after a year and half she finally received a decision last week.

Her claim was accepted, she said, but her problem was described as "chronic major depression related to acute COVID-19."

Anxiety and depression are the worst of the symptoms, she agreed, but she's not sure why the rest of the diagnosis seems to be being downplayed.

• Lack of support for long COVID patients leaves N.B. woman feeling 'abandoned'

CBC News asked WorkSafeNB what it's policy is on long COVID, whether it's recognized as a legitimate medical condition, whether any claims have been approved for it specifically and whether policies were being re-evaluated in light of recent updates from public health agencies.

"Long COVID cases are not separated from COVID cases," said spokesperson Laragh Dooley.

Each application is adjudicated case by case and treated like any other claim under the Workers' Compensation Act that may qualify for wage-loss benefits, medical aid and rehabilitation services, she said.

"If a COVID claim meets the criteria oftest of time, place, and activity, it would be accepted," said Dooley.

As of the end of last month, 585 applications had been made for COVID-related claims, she said. The number accepted was 518; disallowed, 49, and pending, 18.