Our Kids Deserve A Great Comeback

Everyone loves a great comeback story.  I do too!  I watched every single Rocky movie, the theme song lives in my head, and the scene up the  "Rocky Steps" get replayed in my mind often.  So yes, I get the draw of the comeback story. But here's the thing with comeback stories that gets overlooked...all the things it takes to overcome.  Unfortunately, in real life, we can't just skip to the good parts like the viral social media reel.

Currently there are at least 6 million kids suffering from Long Covid in the United States. This  article from JAMA outlines their presentation and the research behind that number. SIX MILLION KIDS, which makes Long Covid the most common chronic illness in the US.  

Unfortunately for this children, most of them are suffering in silence, erased from society.  They are not able to attend school, they can't go out with their friends, they no longer play the sports they loved, no longer participating in their extracurricular activities.  And if they do happen to show up to any of the above, they are still ignored as "they look fine."  I guarantee you when a child with Long Covid does participate int any semblance of their old life, it's typically not because they feel good, it's in spite of how awful they feel.

This is the message to these kids, including me to my own.  "I know how much pain you are in and how tired you are, but let's push through" I say with a fake smile.  I feel like I'm in emotional hell every time I have to say those words to my child. But, without a cure available now or on the horizon, this is what I'm left with.

Yes, we all love the comeback story, the story of resilience, making it against all odds. 

We too, had our comeback story.  My daughter was featured in 2 different articles about her journey and her recovery.  Although she was never back to her baseline, she was a functioning High School student going to school and playing the sport she loved...

Until she wasn't...a second covid infection took her right back down and nearly 2 years later she has still not regained her abilities back to a previous baseline. Unfortunately no one is rushing to write the story of the past 2 years.  Or the millions of stories from other children suffering, missing school, bed bound, missing crucial years of their development and their life.  No, their story won't be valued until they have their great come back, their "Rocky Moment", their resilience story.

But here's the thing, these kids can't have that without real help.  They can't will themselves to wellness, and even if they do, recurrent infections will continue to take them down. 

Would we ever ask a child with asthma to just "push through" an asthma attack?  Would we ask a child with cancer to work on sleep hygiene and diet and exercise to feel better? I know these are very extreme examples but years ago that was all that was available to these kids.  Why do we think that sounds ridiculous now...because of research and a real dedication to help these kids survive and thrive.   Because people didn't look away at these kids suffering just waiting for them to get better; waiting for their comeback story.