‘Mentally, it’s rough’: El Paso woman struggling with ‘long Covid’ more than 1 year after contracting virus

EL PASO, Texas -- While many typically recover from Covid-19 there's also a number of people who are still experiencing symptoms, more than four weeks after infection. It's know as "long Covid" and it can be a frustrating and scary diagnosis.

Kasandra Payen is one of the many with long covid or post covid-19 conditions. She was diagnosed with Covid-19 in October 2020. She said the first telling sign she had Covid-19 was loosing her sense of taste and smell.

"I had my brother (taste my food) and he's like, 'Yeah, it tastes really salty, you know?' And I was like, 'I have Covid.' And he kind of just looked at me and he's like, 'What do you mean,' I was like, 'I have Covid, like, I there's no doubt in my mind," she said.

To this day, the 35-year-old high school teacher has not regained her sense of taste or smell. She's also suffering from brain fog and fatigue. Her hair is also thinning.

"As far as my brain fog, that one's really, really rough," Payen said. "And I actually didn't notice, it was my students who noticed. They're like, you know, 'Ms. Payen, you keep forgetting what you want to say. It was just rough and I didn't really pay attention to it until I had to."

Early this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that long Covid is now considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

"People whose long COVID qualifies as a disability are entitled to the same protections from discrimination as any other person with a disability under the ADA, Section 504, and Section 1557.  Put simply, they are entitled to full and equal opportunities to participate in and enjoy all aspects of civic and commercial life," according to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services website.

"Why does that occur? Why long COVID exists is not really clear," said Dr. Armando Meza, chief of infectious diseases at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center of El Paso.

Dr. Meza said the most common symptom people experience is fatigue. Those who suffer with long covid should see their doctor. While there is no cure, Dr. Meza said studies on long covid are still on going and "we know is that it exists." The CDC and NIH both say their working on studies to understand the long term effects of Covid-19.

Payen said mentally it's been challenging but still has hope that she'll fully recover one day.

"I'm blessed to still be alive. A lot of people, they lost family members and close loved ones. So losing my taste and smell, I think I'm pretty lucky after everything that has been going on."