When Miranda looks at the pictures on her phone, she sees her cheerful and active daughter Tessa. “I am always confronted with that image. In recent months she has only been in bed. Our lives have changed in a short time,” says the Helmondse. Two of her four children, Tom (11) and Tessa (13), have lung covid.
In mid-January, brother and sister are felled by corona. Tom gets a sore throat and some headaches, a few days later Tessa also tests positive. She mainly has headaches. “Tessa has been quite sick of it,” Miranda describes. When she and her son walk the dog, he almost falls through his legs. “Tom felt dizzy and didn’t make it to the end of the street.”
It happened to him again at school. And at a basketball practice he drops out sick. Tom has been home since mid-January with severe fatigue complaints. “He’s still so tired.”
Daughter Tessa also has a lot of problems with the virus. “Tessa is still very sick. She has constant headaches and is only in bed. When she gets up, the headache only gets worse. She rarely leaves her room because she can’t bear the stimuli and the noise downstairs. She has not gone to school since January. Online classes are not available to her and she does not always understand the assignments. That is quite intense.”
“Parents need to know that their children are at risk of contracting lung covid.”
The omikron variant of the coronavirus was not dangerous for young people, it was said. “However, children can also become ill for a long time. We did not know that until our children became ill.”
Miranda describes their complaints:
- fatigue,
- hypersensitive to stimuli,
- headache,
- stress,
- unable to concentrate.
“I miss that attention in the media. Parents need to know that children are also at risk of getting lung covid.”
Until now Tom and Tessa have been treated by their GP, an occupational therapist and a physiotherapist. Without real result. “The decline of Tessa in particular has not stopped yet. It is said that her condition is much less and that, for example, the headache remains. Take them outside and it will be fine, it was said.” According to Miranda, they don’t understand what lung covid means. “I felt like I had to defend my children all the time.”
Miranda sought help from C-support (a support and advice point for patients with long-term corona complaints), but she still has to be called back by a doctor. “I can’t see a pediatrician until October. There is a shortage of pediatricians in Helmond.”
“My cell phone is always on.”
Tom and Tessa’s illness takes a toll on Miranda’s family. “We have two older children who also want to move on with their lives. It’s not always possible to take it easy when Tom and Tessa are around. We can’t all go away anymore and we always have to split up.”
Miranda worries about her sick children. “Tom is stable. However, if he goes beyond his limits, he becomes nauseous and gets a headache. An hour to school is already very tiring. After that he suffers from tired legs for days and is quickly out of breath.”
According to her mother, Tessa is still taking steps backwards. She also has to guard her limits and is still easily tired. “I don’t dare and don’t want to go too far. I’m afraid something will happen. That doesn’t feel right. I was at school this week for an interview, then my mobile phone is always on.”
Is she desperate? “It goes up and down, but I do hope Tom and Tessa get back to their old self soon.”