“You’ve chosen a good day,” says Maya Fischer, laughing on the phone. “Today’s fine.” Often enough, the 26-year-old can sing a song about it. She is familiar with the rollercoaster ride, the famous “COVID coaster”. “I’m on third base five, advance almost to fourth, and then I’m thrown back to first base.” These setbacks are difficult and frustrating. “It’s like a terrible Advent calendar. I never know what to expect the next morning.”
Full of life: Maya Fischer was still on an Interrail trip in summer 2020. (Picture: adobestock)
Maya Fischer is usually a paragon of joie de vivre. “I want to bring a good mood to the world. This is my motto in life: infecting people with it!” she says. Even now, she says she doesn’t want it to get her down – even if she admits that “Long COVID completely overwhelmed me.”
Wanting too much – then came the crash
Maya lives in Immensee in the canton of Schwyz. The sales assistant works in a drugstore in Zug. She had supposedly recovered two months after being infected with COVID-19 at the end of March. She went back to full-time work and also moved. That was too much. “I had a dizzy spell and had to go to hospital.” After that, she was on full sick leave for an extended period of time.
Backpedaling after the hospital stay: even a short walk takes a lot of strength and effort. (Picture: private)
“I didn’t respect my body’s signals enough,” says Maya Fischer in retrospect. “I thought I was OK, even though I was completely broken after a normal day at work.” She is now able to work 20 percent again, even if she sometimes has to cancel.
Neurological problems
Since the hospital stay, neurological problems have cropped up: an occasional numbness in the arms and legs. That’s why Maya Fischer went to the Zurich University Hospital’s Long COVID clinic. “I felt very well understood there, which gives me hope and courage,” she says. That’s why she’s now involved in two studies.
“Realizing that I’m not alone, that many people feel the same way as me, reassured me.”
Maya Fischer had to learn how to do less. She, who used to always go full throttle. Now she has to admit that even shopping and doing laundry are challenging enough. She makes note of what feels good for her – acupuncture or very gentle yoga. Of the different things she’s tried, she’s found CBD drops the most helpful so far. “It can also have a soothing effect on neurological complaints,” says Maya Fischer. CBD helps her sleep, among other things. “Often I’m tired but still restless and have difficulty sleeping. CBD has helped to harmonize that.”
The next step is physiotherapy, because sometimes one leg becomes somewhat paralyzed. It's then all about being patient with yourself. “You can be frustrated for a moment,” says Maya Fischer. “What’s going on with my body? What’s wrong?”
Fortunately, no doubters
“I’m lucky that my environment is very understanding, both privately and professionally,” says Maya. “I don’t know if I would have survived this crazy time so well otherwise. If there were still doubts and problems with my health insurance company, that would be inconceivable.”
“I realized that people like to be there for you!”
The young woman also had to learn to accept help. In the meantime, this has gotten easier: “I realized that people like to be there for me!” It’s a beautiful insight in all the sadness. And Maya also learned to question the ubiquitous pressure to perform.
Newly found self-worth
“If I do something, I’m good; if I don’t, people look down on me, I always thought,” says Maya. Linking one’s own self-worth to performance is problematic. “I’m just as good when I’m doing less than usual. My body has just enough to do,” she says. It almost sounds as though she’s been able to draw some positive things from the involuntary lessons of the past few months. “Absolutely!” replies Maya Fischer with conviction. “Certain things that happened to me also taught me a great deal.”
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