• Long COVID is crashing the retirement hopes of many Americans - MarketWatch
    https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-isnt-just-gonna-go-away-long-covid-is-crashing-the-retirement-hope
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    Two years ago, Kathy Spencer, a 58-year-old math teacher, motorcycle rider and mother of two, planned to guide middle school students through geometry well into her 70s.

    But now Spencer, from Kensington, Conn., is facing the real possibility that long COVID will keep her from ever entering a classroom again. She still needs supplemental oxygen, and has difficulty speaking as a result of the hypoxia, or lack of oxygen reaching her brain. She suffers tremors in her head, arms and legs, which can be triggered by talking, and she experiences debilitating fatigue.

    “We’re meeting with our financial planner and our accountant to make some really tough decisions about how my husband and I need to change our financial goals and plans,” Spencer said. “It’s been a slow recognition that this isn’t just gonna go away.”

    Spencer’s idea of what her life would be like in her 70s has radically changed. She is one of the millions of people who have been suffering post-COVID conditions for weeks, months, or even years after their initial COVID-19 infections. This is commonly called long COVID, and the symptoms include difficulty breathing or shortness of breath; tiredness or fatigue; symptoms that get worse after physical or mental activity; and difficulty thinking or concentrating, sometimes referred to as brain fog. Some of these patients, often called long haulers, also experience damage to multiple organs, including the brain, heart, lungs and kidneys.