“We were already a little forgotten, but here we are really on the side of the road.” While wearing a mask is no longer mandatory and the majority of restrictions related to Covid-19 have been lifted, the daily life of “Covid long” patients does not improve and the end of the tunnel seems very far away. In Rennes, Bénédicte Pescio goes on sick leave. This director of a sophrology center contracted the disease in March 2020.
“Not enough tone” to vibrate his vocal cords
She calls him “his new best friend” or “his breadcrumb trail”. Since last May, this 49-year-old from Rennes has been equipped with an oxygen concentrator, up to 15 hours a day. Contaminated a second time, last January with the Omicron variant, Bénédicte Pescio considers less and less a possible cure. “I no longer put myself in perspective of healing but in perspective of achievement.” This sportswoman, who could run up to 87 kilometers before the illness, therefore registered for a race in a year. “I might do it while walking, but that’s okay, I’ll do it! I’m adapting to a new state, and I’m trying to cope with it, as best I can!”
His contamination with the Omicron variant, in January, caused symptoms to reappear which had disappeared in the fall of 2020. Some are still present today. When this Rennaise is tired, her voice derails. “I no longer have enough tone in the air column to vibrate the vocal cords”, she explains. It is still impossible for her to climb the stairs without being out of breath, and every physical exertion is followed by a nap. Her son, a 23-year-old student, is worried. “When he hears my voice, he knows I’m tired. Of course, I can’t hide it from him, especially on the phone.”
How is “Long Covid” recognized?
10% of Covid cases are “long Covid” according to the Ministry of Health, up to 30% according to the AprèsJ20 association, which campaigns for better recognition of the disease. This association which brings together patients with “Covid long” asks the creation of a “long-term condition” (ALD) dedicated to this pathology. For the moment, sick people obtain ALDs for a particular symptom or in the “off-list” category. ALD classification, decided by a medical adviser from the Primary Health Insurance Fund (CPAM) at the request of an attending physician, makes it possible to obtain reimbursements, or the cost of transport for patients located far away. treatment centers. This ALD was not offered to Bénédicte Pescio, after two years of illness.
Claire Le Fresne, nurse and co-coordinator of the “Covid long” unit at the Rennes University Hospital is the guest of France Bleu Armorique this Friday at 8:15 a.m.