The pandemic didn't end for this P.E.I. woman, who wants more support for those with long COVID

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 8:29 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

Just implicit 2 years ago, Nikkie Gallant ne'er would person imagined that simply sitting up successful furniture would beryllium an exhausting task for her. 

That's been the P.E.I. musician's world since the autumn of 2022, erstwhile she was diagnosed with post-COVID condition, much commonly known arsenic "long COVID."

Now she drains a batch of vigor conscionable going to the descend for a solid of h2o oregon folding laundry. She often has to hide astir plants to leave the house. 

"It's similar you're a artillery that doesn't complaint each the way," the Summerside nonmigratory said.  

"I'm doing a batch amended than I was… but I'm inactive truly sick. When I was astatine my worst, I was level and I could hardly beryllium up. I fundamentally had a tiny model of the time wherever I could beryllium up." 

While thoughts of the COVID-19 pandemic are successful the rearview reflector for astir Islanders, they're inactive a portion of regular beingness for others.

It's estimated that much than 1 cardinal Canadians endure from agelong COVID, medically recognized as the persistence of COVID-19 symptoms for much than 12 weeks aft a idiosyncratic is initially infected with the virus. 

There is nary known cure. Self-care and a fewer medicines tin assistance negociate immoderate of the symptoms, though. 

Fatigue, shortness of enactment and encephalon fog are common, but the information isn't ever the aforesaid for everyone. 

Gallant said she whitethorn beryllium 1 of the luckier ones, successful fact. She has her ma astir to help, security benefits done her enactment to screen immoderate of her aesculapian costs, and a customized wheelchair that allows her immoderate independence.

She thinks her wellness is connected a bully trajectory and gradually improving, but said she knows patients whose symptoms person stayed the aforesaid oregon gotten worse. 

"There's not overmuch you tin bash to get better, but you don't privation to suffer your existent baseline. You don't privation to suffer the prime of beingness that you have," Gallant said. 

"I deliberation we similar to judge that medicine has each the answers… but for galore conditions, it's not similar that astatine all. We don't person answers for them." 

A spokesperson for P.E.I.'s Department of Health and Wellness said successful an emailed connection to CBC News that neither the World Health Organization nor the Public Health Agency of Canada classifies long COVID arsenic a disease, "but alternatively arsenic a information that tin alteration successful severity and symptoms from idiosyncratic to person." 

The section said it does not way the nonstop fig of patients with agelong COVID. 

"For individuals experiencing [post-COVID- condition], attraction and absorption are provided by health-care professionals based connected their circumstantial symptoms and needs," the connection reads. 

"At this time, determination are nary circumstantial plans for a dedicated agelong COVID rehabilitation centre successful P.E.I." 

'It made maine crazy' 

Gallant inactive struggles to bash immoderate of the things she loves the most. 

She's been nominated for aggregate Music P.E.I. awards, but she hasn't been capable to enactment connected immoderate concerts successful a while. 

Even holding her guitar is simply a struggle. She present has a laptop basal propping up 1 extremity and pillows astatine the guitar's cervix to assistance her play, since she doesn't person the spot to clasp the instrumentality for agelong periods of time. 

But she's still travel a agelong mode from the aboriginal days of her illness.

"I couldn't interaction my guitar and it made maine crazy," she said. "Now I tin play guitar a small bit — not ace often, but connected the weekends erstwhile successful a while, I tin play a fewer songs astatine a time.

"I get bushed truly easily, truthful I tin bash things successful bite-sized chunks." 

Gallant decided to talk retired due to the fact that she'd similar to spot much backing enactment into researching the condition, and much rehab options for those who endure from agelong COVID. 

"We don't person to unrecorded successful fearfulness of it, but we bash person to beryllium alert that it exists," she said. 

"There's a definite magnitude of acceptance that we person to person that yes, we are surviving with this present and what does that mean? It doesn't mean ignoring it."