Woman diagnosed with long COVID discusses feeling ‘isolated and not understood’

A New Brunswick woman who was diagnosed with long COVID hopes penning a book about her experiences will help others struggling with the condition.

Anne Belliveau-LeBlanc comes to her summer home in Bouctouche, N.B., to be near the water, to relax and to meditate. For the author, the break is essential to maintaining her health.

In January 2022, she was diagnosed with long COVID after a COVID-19 infection.

“I had a hard time with my brain. Like the brain fog and, the memory, just feeling tired,” she said.

“The feeling that my body wasn’t right. I couldn’t go up three steps. I was so short of breath, I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t talk. My breathing was too short.”

While she had the support of her husband and her family, she says dealing with the relatively new diagnosis was isolating and scary. She wrote down her thoughts in a journal to help her navigate through it.

1:45 Fallout ensues after the closure of long-COVID outpatient program

Those words are now being turned into a book.

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“I know that they feel isolated and not understood and a lot of time they suffer by themselves. So I thought maybe my book will help them see that there’s hope.”

According to a Statistics Canada survey released in December 2023, 19 per cent of Canadian adults infected with COVID-19 reported experiencing long-term symptoms.

That’s why Belliveau-LeBlanc says it’s vital for resources to be available for patients.

She adds that while her family doctor tried to help her, there is a lack of specialized long COVID care available in New Brunswick. She believes the province should consider creating clinics focused on long COVID.

“I feel that everybody that has long COVID in New Brunswick are left alone, and they’re by themselves, and they have to find their own way,” she said.

A spokesperson for the province’s Department of Health told Global News that those with long COVID should contact their health-care provider for the next steps.

Meanwhile, Belliveau-LeBlanc’s book is being published in French next month. She may look into having it translated into English if there is enough interest.

“If it can help one person, I’ll be happy. And it was worth making the book.”

— with a file from Global News’ Rebecca Lau