It was mid October last year, as Angelina Brupbacher's son was infected by COVID-19. "The worst was initially the nausea", tells Brupbacher on the phone. "For two months our son ran around with a bucket for his vomit."
Constant ups and downs
Things are now better in this regard, but what remains is a Fatigue syndrome: Mattie gets tired very quickly and has trouble concentrating. The condition remains unpredictable. "Yesterday it was a great day, the day before was really bad, and today it is going so-so", says Brupbacher. In reality her name is different*. The topic of Long COVID in children is important to her, but she does not want to expose her son unnecessarily.
What scares the mother is the thought that this state of exhaustion could become chronic. Therefore, she makes sure that her son does not overexert himself. He goes to school for one math class a day. Angelina Brupbacher takes care of the rest with distance teaching from home. "Children today are already performance-oriented", she says. "An 11-year-old does not know his limits so well. So I have to make sure that we stop before he reaches the limit of exhaustion."
Experience with chronic Fatigue
Angelina Brupbacher knows from her own experience how important is to dose the effort. She herself suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). She was diagnosed with CFS shortly before the outbreak of the pandemic. She had a career, her husband was more engaged in the household. Now they switched roles. With repeated overexertion, the fatigue may become chronic. In this respect, it is fortunate that Brupbacher is already familiar with this condition. Finding the right balance between breaking and encouraging can however be a challenge. "He is intelligent and he has the will, but then he lacks the energy". It is sometimes hard to observe.
"The doctor told him: 'You absolutely have to see your friends again!' It makes him much better mentally."
The Brupbacher family has had good experiences with the family doctor and the school. "The family doctor always took us seriously and listened to us. Whenever I talked about a new study that I had read about, she would take it up and investigate accordingly."
It was very important that the doctor told her son: "You absolutely have to see your friends again!" Because in the first month he didn't dare to do it - after all, he didn't go to school either. In isolation, the son developed depressive symptoms. Now he is better again thanks to contacts with his peers.
"I keep telling myself: 'He'll get well!' You have to learn to be an optimist."
The school was also accommodating and agreed to an individual solution. "They knew me at school and my son was hardworking. That sure helped. But how would the school have reacted had he been a different child earlier?" asks Brupbacher. She is addressing an important issue: The institutional recognition of Long COVID. "That will be one of the big issues for the future", Brupbacher is convinced.
The most important thing for Angelina Brupbacher is to stay positive! "We try to laugh a lot together. "I keep telling myself: 'He'll get well!' You have to learn to be an optimist. That is good for the child and the whole family."
Second infection
Even if there are setbacks on the way. Mattia was unlucky enough to get infected again in March - this time with the British variant. Despite everything, the family is also doing plans for the future: "I'm looking forward to healthier times - and we dream of family vacations."
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