Many Canadians have had long COVID for almost 4 years. Researchers say there's hope

Forty-two per cent of the people in Canada reporting lasting symptoms had them for a year or more, but Canadian doctors and scientists want long COVID patients to know that research is accelerating.

Four years ago, Sonja Mally was a busy tattoo artist with a photographic memory and penchant for long hikes.

Now, the 38-year-old Toronto woman considers it a good day if she can do a small drawing, muster the energy to walk around the block or “perform very basic tasks.”

“It's a hard thing to have to explain to people why maybe one day you might be doing fine and the next day you can't find the words to complete a sentence,” Mally said.

Debilitating long-COVID symptoms ended the career she loved and forced her to go on Ontario government disability payments, which she supplements with some part-time administrative work.

Mally's world changed in March 2020, when she got what she thought was a mild cold - “nothing that I thought was going to slow me down.”

“It was what happened afterwards that was devastating for me.”

That COVID-19 infection led to respiratory problems and extreme fatigue. Then came more terrifying symptoms, including brain fog so severe that the artist couldn't draw a clock during a neurology exam, as well as “excruciating pain” that “felt like my veins were on fire.”