When the COVID-19 virus began to spread in the United States in March 2020, McKale Santin was working at a nursing home in Burlington, Vermont. Knowing that she and her coworkers were unprotected against the virus behind an only surgical mask made her nervous as she examined patients without protection.
One day, a patient pulled down her own mask to sneeze while Santin was conducting a respiratory assessment. Soon after, the woman became one of Vermont’s first people to die in COVID-19—and Santin fell ill. The 33-year-old nurse developed a deep coughing illness with fever and sweating for weeks.
Sixteen months later, she still suffers from debilitating symptoms. Formerly a cyclist and rock climber, Santin now has difficulty climbing the stairs to her apartment, constantly feels fatigued, often loses her balance due to numbness in her feet and is dealing with swollen joints. She also experiences brain fog.
Santin is a COVID “Long Hauler”