She previously worked as a physiotherapist in Calgary. Then, she was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Her symptoms started in December 2020, with a sore throat and congestion. They quickly got worse and she began to experience chest pain, difficulty sleeping, shortness of breath, and a high heart rate.
Kelli Franklin has done the Machu Picchu Trail in Peru before. Today, she can no longer engage in any form of physical activity.
Photo: Courtesy of Kelli Franklin
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She expected the symptoms to pass relatively quickly.
Keli Franklin began to postpone appointments with her clients and tried to stay optimistic. However, the full recovery hoped for did not happen.
This disease has taken so much from me. She took my job, my relationships with all my clients, my family and friends, my passions, my hobbies. I thought that being young, healthy and quite active, I would only be sick for a week or two.
Over the months, Keli Franklin continued to experience a variety of symptoms, including severe fatigue, breathing problems, and hair loss. I noticed that all the systems in my body were affected
, she said.
The change in her hair has been spectacular.
Keli Franklin used to have long, curly, red hair. But since December, they’ve been falling off in pieces, and the pigment in her once-shiny hair is gone.
It’s like another part of me has been taken away
, she said.
She went to the emergency room several times and made numerous doctor’s appointments, doing her own research to try to understand her condition after she was told there was no treatment for it.
Every day is a challenge, she expresses, endless in sight
.
Treatment of COVID-19, still evolving
Dr Angela Cheung, a physician and senior scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, said that while progress has been made, the understanding and treatment of COVID-19 is still evolving.
Regular treatments for post-viral illnesses have resulted in some patients making a full recovery
, said Cheung, who specializes in COVID-19 research. According to her, some patients no longer have symptoms.
Dr. Angela Cheung co-led a study on the long-term effects of COVID-19 on more than 1,300 patients.
Photo : University Health Network
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There are over 200 symptoms associated with all post-viral illnesses.
Angela Cheung believes that hair loss is a common symptom of all illnesses.
Hair is quite susceptible to disease and stress, so we tend to lose our hair when we are not well.
Cheung estimates that 10 to 50% of COVID-19 cases present with post-COVID disorders.
%is a low value and 50%a high value, the truth probably lying between these two figures “,” text “:” It is not a very precise estimate … I think that 10% is a low value and 50% a high value, the truth probably lying between these two digits “}}”>This is not a very precise estimate … I think 10% is a low value and 50% a high value, the truth probably lying between these two figures
, she said.
According to Dr. Angela Cheung, people with symptoms will need treatment to recover. Treatments vary from case to case depending on the symptoms.
Give yourself time to heal
Her advice to Franklin and others battling COVID-19 is to be patient, both with the healing and with themselves. It’s not like you wake up the next morning and it’s all gone
, she explained.
Meanwhile, Franklin tries to stay positive about an unknown future.
These days, she rarely leaves home, hasn’t been able to work, and doesn’t have enough energy to indulge in everyday pleasures as simple as watching TV or making a cup of coffee on the day. morning.
However, she hopes her story will help raise awareness of the seriousness of COVID-19, the impact this disease has had on her life and the lives of others, and the need to continue to seek treatment. .
From a text by Isabelle Leger of CBC
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