You're listening to Well Now Slate's podcast on health and wellness.

I'm Maya Feller.

And I'm Kavita Patel.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, it is estimated, Maya, that potentially tens of millions of people, perhaps even more, who were infected with COVID-19, have developed

what we now come to know as long COVID. It often involves a range of disabling symptoms,

everything from brain fog, fatigue, dizziness, cognitive impairment, strange neural symptoms

that can come and go lasting seconds to months, and above all,

emotional depth and depression that it's been hard for me to even describe as we're still

seeing it unfold. And while doctors and other allied health professionals are still grappling

with how best to treat long COVID,

many patients, their lives have simply been turned upside down.

I had a very full life before I got sick.

Long COVID has affected every part of my life now.

Rachel Beale testified earlier this year before the Senate Committee on Health, Education,

labor, and Pensions.

And she discussed how the illness of long COVID has impacted her and her family.

My kids have grown accustomed to me being sick. We plan things around how I feel and my

energy level. If there's something coming up, like a birthday or holiday, I try to get as much rest as I

can before the event. I know that I will have a crash for the next few days after, and I won't be

able to do much but sleep. Sometimes it takes several weeks for me to get back to my baseline.

In that same hearing, doctors explain the struggles and frustrations

they've encountered when trying to give the best care they can for their patients. These people

...