FARGO — They are called "long-haulers," people who have recovered from COVID-19 but still experience symptoms. Research is just beginning on patients who are living with long term impacts from the virus.
Stephanie Gaboury of West Fargo knew something wasn't right.
"Trying to explain it to someone, something was off, I didn't feel right," Gaboury said.
In June, she was diagnosed with COVID-19. She recovered just fine until a few months later, when she noticed she just wasn't thinking straight.
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Gaboury said she had "extreme brain fog, didn't feel like myself."
Along with dizziness, there were also incidents of passing out after getting up from a chair or couch. Because of this, Gaboury was in the emergency room often; she was injured after a fall.
Then, a few days ago, she came to Healing with Hyperbarics of North Dakota in Fargo. She's had six treatments of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The treatments are a gradual but strict protocol to increase the amount of oxygen getting into her bloodstream.
"Using hyperbaric, anti-inflammatory, using oxygen that cells need to turn off the inflammation the way it's supposed to — it seems so simple," said Dr. Daphne Denham with Health with Hyperbarics.
For Gaboury, the treatments have been life-changing. She reported that the fainting and brain fog are gone. She even said the recent hyperbaric treatments helped her get rid of fatigue and restored her sleep patterns.
"I feel like I've gotten my life back," she said.
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