Alba Rossi* worked as a beautician in the center of Rome. The story of her illness starts one day at the end of July 2021 when she wakes up with a sore throat and fever. She takes a swab test, which comes back positive next day. COVID-19 is not the same for everyone, but for Alba it has a devastating impact. For one week her fever does not drop below 39.9 Celsius degrees and she loses 5 kilos. This kicks off an ordeal with a range of 20-30 symptoms that alternate for over a month. Her lungs and intestine are affected, among other organs, and have to be treated with cortisone. The psychological part also takes its toll: The shortness of breath and resulting claustrophobia are scary. Isolation and loneliness leave marks you can't see, but they harm you. Alba tests positive four times in 35 days so she has to stay in isolation for two months in total.
"On a mental level, Covid marks your soul; you are super scared, and it scars you inside."
Recovery from Covid is long. The symptoms disappear, but very slowly, and only to make way for an overwhelming fatigue that afflicts Alba. Once Alba is negative again, she goes back to work, despite the shortness of breath and fatigue, which continue. Alba struggles on but has to take breaks to get her breath back and alleviate the pain. Her work colleagues don't take into account what it means to be tired and fatigued; they don't see the tendons that cause her great pain, but above all they don't make an effort to understand Alba's situation.
The physiological and psychological pressure force the 40-year-old to resign from her job (moreover safe), where she had first contracted the illness. Alba says: "I had to reinvent my life, think about what work I would be able to do now, with the ever-present fear of failing."
"After Covid, there is another monster that hits us: ignorance."
"Before Covid, I was someone who was very secure in my life," explains Alba. "I'm not like that anymore." From cheerful and joyful, Alba's mental situation has caused her to become quiet and placid, for the most part socially isolated. "My life is based on 'who's there'." When you say COVID-19 people freeze, they take a step back and seem to think 'keep your distance'." People don't really talk about Long COVID though: "Nobody talks to you about Long COVID; nobody warns you about what might happen to you," says Alba. The situation is also difficult for Alba financially: without work, she is living off her savings.
"Nobody talks to you about Long COVID; nobody warns you about what might happen to you."
"The only positive note in the story," says Alba "is that you get to know the people who really love you, your true friends with a capital F." Originally from Umbria, Alba doesn't have any family in Rome. Only with the help of her partner, whom she lives with, and her few true friends, has she managed to overcome the isolation and gain strength. Furthermore, Alba has had the good fortune of having a caring and understanding doctor, whom Alba calls "an angel." "The doctor never abandoned me; we would talk to each other on video calls. He sometimes also called me from the beach, during time off," recalls Alba.
Alba is trying to maintain her positivity even though her symptoms have not disappeared completely. Besides friends, Alba's support system also includes an online group, where she can vent and let off steam, and find advice and empathy. Today, Alba is facing Long COVID step by step: "In Rome they say: 'Rome was not built in a day.' This is my attitude for living life and how I maintain trust." In summary, small steps and small victories help to cope with Long COVID.
*Name changed; the real name is known to the editorial team
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