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My mom was able to ambulate with minimal assistance and the occasional use of her walker. Now, 3 months after recovering from COVID, she is in a wheelchair and needs moderate assistance to transfer to/from bed, toilet, etc. and cannot bathe or dress herself as she did before. She is becoming more depressed by the day and does not want to join in any activities at the NH. I had her lined up for a beautiful AL community, but now she no longer qualifies due to her present condition. She has plateaued on Medicare PT/OT, so she is not getting much physical exercise or mental engagement. I am concerned that she will never return to her former self and that this is her new normal. Any suggestions?

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My 80 year-old mother is currently going through this. The only difference is she was neglected at a rehab facility she was sent to and ended up with a horrible sore on her heel (along with a MRSA infection) and another on her bottom. She had to have surgery on her foot and was in the hospital for over 6 weeks because of that. The sore on her foot has almost heeled, but she is still constantly tired, doesn't have much of an appetite, and can't even stand without assistance, let alone walk. Prior to all of this, she could still get around with her rollator walker, make herself simple meals, dress herself, etc. etc. She has mastered all of her exercises from home health PT, and so, we have paused PT while me and a friend continue working with Mom on standing. PT said Mom will have to at least cooperate with them in trying to get her to stand before they can come back and before Medicare will continue paying. That was over 3 weeks ago. I do the PT exercises with Mom religiously every day, and we continue working with her on standing. I, too, am worried this is Mom's new normal, which would really be tragic. BTW, Mom has had both shots of the Phizer vaccine, and unfortunately, it seemed to have had no impact. Has your mother improved any? If anything changes with your Mom, please let us know.
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There have been several news stories here about the effects for long haulers, as they are called in the U.S.. If mom was in the nursing home already I would think a drastic decline would be the normal. Best wishes, hope you see an improvement, this may very well be her new normal.
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My cousin has been diagnosed as a long hauler after his Covid. He is now seeing a pulmonologist.

I am so sorry that your mom is struggling with this. I hope she improves soon.

Best wishes to you and your family.
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You should be able to find information about ‘long covid’ as it’s being called when people don’t recover the way that most do. It comes up on Australian news all the time. I've checked on Google, and there are lots of sites including Wikipedia.

The most helpful thing I can remember quickly is that some ‘long covid’ cases seem to clear up quite quickly if the person gets the vaccine. N o-one knows why, and I can’t remember which vaccine it is. I hope that someone else can be more use for you and your mother.
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MargaretMcKen Apr 2021
Here is the news site:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2021-03-24/coronavirus-long-covid-could-the-vaccine-cure-it/100023114
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