Until last winter, 20-year-old Ramon Crosina’s life was, to coin a phrase, on track: his training as a car mechatronics technician enabled him to perfectly combine his passion for cars with his career, and he spent his free time hanging out with friends.
A rollercoaster of symptoms
Ramon’s positive PCR test changed his life abruptly: he fell ill with COVID-19. At first, he only had mild complaints. “With me, the COVID symptoms started off by going up and down. If I ever had a fever, it might disappear after an hour and be replaced by a headache and a cough,” says Ramon. Over the course of eight days, different symptoms sometimes alternated hourly.
“My family and friends stand by me and support me as much as they can.”
After recovering, Ramon felt well for four days. Then the first signs of the long-term consequences of COVID-19 began to appear. Ramon recalls: “Initially, I still worked 50% at the company, but until midday at the latest – I had to go home to lie down and sleep.” Signs of Long COVID soon appeared: unusually severe exhaustion, shortness of breath, brain fog and extreme muscle pain.
During his military service just a few weeks earlier, Ramon Crosina achieved the sports badge – easily. Now, a 500-meter walk brought him to the limit. It’s no wonder Ramon developed mild depression and started to have panic attacks in the meantime. The number of symptoms Ramon was suffering from steadily grew: sore throat, headaches, muscle twitching, fluctuating blood pressure, sleeping problems.
“Some of the people around me had difficulty understanding me and accepting what I was going through. But my family and friends stand by me and support me as much as they can,” says Ramon. He is particularly grateful to be able to live at home with his parents, because this means shopping and carrying bags are not something he has to worry about at the moment.
Specialist clinic in Chur
Ramon’s family doctor was also very understanding, but soon reached the limits of his options. The physician referred him to Gregory Fretz’s Long COVID clinic at the Chur cantonal hospital, where Ramon underwent numerous tests and examinations – with the result that he was “healthy according to conventional medicine.” This meant that causes unrelated to COVID were ruled out. Dr. Fretz then did all he could to help Ramon Crosina and managed to have him admitted to the Clinica Curativa in Scuol for a course of treatment.
“I take comfort in knowing that I’ll get better, even if there is a long way to go.”
“Did I brush my teeth yet?”
After all, it was clear that Ramon was sick. Recently, he was diagnosed with a severe memory impairment. “Sometimes I can’t remember the simplest things – whether I’ve brushed my teeth, for example,” says Ramon.
Starting a U-turn
Acupuncture and Chinese herbs provided initial relief from symptoms. Ramon is not cured, “but I finally feel like I’m back on the up,” he says. And he is looking forward to the stay in Scuol, from which he also expects a lot.
