The Long Road To Recovery

Persisting side-effects even months after surviving Covid are taking a heavy physical and emotional toll on patients, making their return to normal life a protracted and difficult battle

- Sonali Acharjee

VIRUS WATCH A health worker collects samples for Covid test in Delhi’s Sadar Bazar

The first time Vidhushi Tripathi sensed something was wrong with her was when she couldn’t smell the garam masala her mother uses as a garnish for dal. Normally, the aroma of the spices would alert Tripathi, a 33-year-old software engineer in Bengaluru, that dinner was about to be served. But one night in June, she could smell nothing. “I tested positive for Covid. I had mild symptoms—fever and fatigue. I can never explain how frightened I was that I might have infected my mother, but she was negative. After two weeks, I tested negative too and could smell again,” says Tripathi.

Tripathi thought the worst was over. But nearly five months on, she continues to struggle with her post Covid recovery. Debilitating fatigue was the first symptom she experienced ‘Long Covid’, a condition where patients continue to deal with Covid-related symptoms long after their body has been rid of the virus. Some days, the fatigue was so extreme that she found it difficult to even talk while walking. The next symptom was the same old loss of smell, which would last about two days at a time. “Suddenly one day, I couldn’t smell my coffee—I couldn’t believe it. Then a few weeks later, I couldn’t smell flowers. The symptom just comes and goes in waves. Every time I feel I am getting better, I relapse,” says Tripathi. The third symptom, which persists to date, is gluten sensitivity that has forced Tripathi to give up wheat, flour, and other gluten-heavy products.