New Patient Story

Altered Reality When Covid came to the US, we had the first patients in our facility. Working directly above them, I was cautious and prayerful regarding their healing and the safety of the staff caring for them. That's when the shift began... At the end of 2020, it happened. It hit me like a ton of bricks. The Covid that shut down my kids' schools, our whole economy, our understanding of reality crashed into the life of my family. Transmitted at school, my kids brought it home. We never imagined it would forever change our lives. A few of us barely had a runny nose, but two of us were miserable. My youngest and I were sick in ways we never could have imagined. He eventually recovered, but it stuck with me like gum imbedded in my favorite shoes. I had to read street signs to find my way home. I'd have panic attacks sitting in the living room with my family. The swollen feeling of my brain trying to push out of my eye sockets and ear canals was debilitating. The tinnitus, nausea, and intense exhaustion made even the smallest activity overwhelming and often impossible. I lived like this for months. It took 5 months before I could function well enough to return to the job I loved. Ultimately, a huge number of supplements, an anti-inflammatory diet, anxiety meds, and a provider that took every symptom seriously made the shift into recovery. Four months after my first recovery, it struck my household again, except this time, only I became severely ill. So ill that it was 9 months and I had to change jobs in order to be able to return to work. My previous position was high intensity and required quick thinking and problem-solving - things I am no longer capable of. I found a new position with less intensity and less problem-solving activities for my still altered executive functions. This past August, it happened again. Another bout of Covid. More meds, rest, supplements, headaches, exhaustion, etc. The fear of falling backwards into the abyss of such an awful illness was tangible. My fears were only slightly realized as my provider and I worked hard to blast the illness from my system with every tool we had. I was able to return to work within three weeks! As I work towards recovery for the third time, I remain grateful for the support and encouragement I have received from my Providence team members all through these last few years. I still have random panic attacks, epic exhaustion, swollen-feeling headaches, and other bothersome symptoms. I don't know if I will ever return to being the same person I once was. For now, I am grateful I can get out of bed and make it to work okay. I had to pick up a second job to help offset the significant hit our finances took - even with the good insurance Providence provides. I count myself and my family deeply blessed by our relationship with Providence and the gracious staff and providers that have cared for me and eased my way into my new reality.