It is not in your head, long covid does have a physical cause. Researchers from the Amsterdam UMC and the Vrije Universiteit have demonstrated this by studying muscle tissue of people with and without complaints. The research results confirm what long Covid patients have known for some time. Seventy percent of all patients collapse after minor physical or mental exertion. Exercise actually worsens their complaints. “This is not news to me, my body has been saying that for years. Hopefully this is the start of a solution.”
Sandra van den Heuvel from Oss says she is taking ‘small steps’ when it comes to her health. “I used to be at four percent, now at 16 or 17 percent.” She hopes that the results of the research will be taken into account. “More investment needs to be made in clinics where good advice is given. There have been patients who were too We were told that they should start exercising, while we know that this is actually counterproductive,” says 47-year-old Sandra.
“Frying an egg. That works just fine.”
She has experienced for herself that this did not work and it is precisely the small, normal things that are often no longer possible. “Like cooking. The muscles in my arm can’t handle that. Frying an egg. That just works.”
Mariska Hoos from Vlijmen contracted corona and then long covid in April 2020. She had known about the results for some time, because she was one of the 25 participants in the UMC study. “I followed closely what came out, but I was not allowed to say anything before it was released,” says the 48-year-old who worked as an ambulance nurse for nineteen years. She has now been completely rejected.
“I had a fantastic job. I would rather work again.”
And that was frustrating, says Mariska: “Especially when you read that people think it’s all in your head or that you no longer feel like working. That touches you. I had a fantastic job. I would rather work again.” Now that the research has been published, it feels like a relief. “These are facts and it has been well researched. It doesn’t just appear in Nature.” The results of this investigation were published on Thursday published in Naturea renowned British scientific journal.
Mariska mainly advocates more money for thorough research. Not only for herself, but also for fellow sufferers. “Do something with the results of the research,” is her call to the government. This is necessary to be able to tackle the cause. “The will is there, but the minister does not want to make money available for it.” A shame, she thinks, because many people who were still in the middle of their working lives are now unintentionally on the sidelines.
“I would be happy if there were medication that would stop the deterioration.”
For Mariska, mother of two children aged 15 and 11, it will no longer help. Complete healing is no longer possible anyway, she explains. “Too much is already broken for that: abnormalities in my muscles, brain and blood vessels. I would be happy if there were medication that would stop the deterioration,” she hopes. Because unlike Sandra, she does not move forward, but backwards in small steps. “I was able to open a jar last summer, but not anymore,” she gives as an example. Walking is also becoming increasingly difficult: “I’m staggering.”
For both Sandra and Mariska, life mainly takes place at home. “I haven’t been to a party in three years,” says Sandra from Oss. Still, she tries to enjoy the possibilities that still exist. “I just don’t think too much about what I actually miss: dancing, skiing and sports.”
Sandra talked about Long Covid two years ago and struck a chord with many viewers.
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