“Tim* was always a very good, hard-working student,” says his mother. “Today, a lesson from distance learning is often too strenuous.” The family is concerned about the risk of Tim missing too much teaching and having to repeat a class. “That would be the worst for him,” says Claudia Stettler*. She therefore tries to teach her son as much as possible at home. Whenever possible, they learn math, English and German together.
Schools show flexibility
“The school was very understanding right from the start and gave us all the teaching materials for home.” Distance learning also works flexibly. If Tim feels fit enough to take part, he can just give the teacher a quick call and be there. He currently does this about twice a week. Often, however, the headaches and aching limbs are just too severe.
“The important thing is to learn to accept Long COVID and to make the best of it.”
Playful therapy is good for you
Tim currently undergoes physiotherapy three times a week. This gives him some structure to his day-to-day life again and is very good for him – not least because the interpersonal relationship between the physiotherapist and Tim works so well. “The therapist makes the lessons very playful. It’s nice to watch them.”
Although Tim himself does not feel any of this yet, his pulse values have improved a little in recent weeks. “Before, when performing the lightest activity, his pulse accelerated instantly to the level of an athlete in interval training,” explains Stettler. “Nevertheless, finding the right balance is not easy. Just a little too much effort and he’ll be very exhausted.”
Challenge: being alone
Being alone is another challenge, in two respects: firstly, people living with Long COVID are often alone in their daily lives. Secondly, there are (fortunately) not many known cases of children suffering from Long COVID so far. This also makes you feel a bit left alone. The joy was all the greater when the whole class stood at the door a few days ago to say “hello.” “That was a wonderful surprise!” reports Stettler. It is precisely these small gestures that Tim’s mother tries to incorporate into her everyday life. For example, they go to the hairdresser together, hang up a hammock in the garden, pick up a cheeseburger at McDonald’s or invite a friend home. She wants to give her son “some variety and a bit of normality.”
To date, there have only been a few known cases of children with Long COVID. According to her mother, the information on the subject is correspondingly meager. Stettler therefore reads many articles and collects the information himself. She also came across Altea and got in touch with Angelina Brupbacher and her son Mattia. “The two children get along really well! They’ve never seen each other live, but they enjoy chatting with each other. Once they even played a computer game together. And for me, too, the exchange with Angelina is very valuable.”
“The joy was great when the whole class stood outside to say ‘hello’.”
Enough of everything
Almost four months have now passed since February 16, 2021, the day it all began. “At first, you think that can’t be true. Then you wish it would stop. But the important thing is to learn to accept it and make the best of it.” What remains for Tim are headaches and pain in his limbs as well as severe and rapid fatigue. “I always feel like it’s midnight,” the 10-year-old describes his condition. His mother says: “I admire Tim for putting up with all this and how patient he is.” Nevertheless, the 10-year-old is slowly but surely becoming fed up with everything.
Despite all this, Stettler is convinced that we still have to remain optimistic. The family talks openly about new findings, opportunities, and associated risks. Openness is very important, believes Claudia Stettler: “Children often know best what is good for them.”
*Name changed, real name known to the writers
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