Help Jerry recover from Long COVID

Hello, my name is Jerry Stine. I am struggling with Long COVID. My symptoms (see below for details) have prevented me from being able to care for myself. Working is out of the question, so there is no income and this debilitating condition brings huge expenses. The result is not just grinding stress, but it limits almost completely my access to the supportive therapies and treatments needed for my recovery. Your support can change all that.

Many of you who receive this appeal know me as the nutritional biochemist at the Lifespan institute and Lifespan Products. It has been my privilege to advise many of you on troublesome health issues with guidance on lifestyle, diet, and nutritional supplements. Now I need your help. Please consider donating whatever is comfortable for you and please Share this GoFundMe campaign as widely as you can. Help me get well and back to work helping people as I have done for decades. Thank you.

With your contribution, my recovery will be supported by:

• Medical appointments with specialized practitioners and therapies (physical, occupational, and speech therapy, light therapy, acupuncture, massage, etc.)

• Travel to medical appointments (I cannot drive at all now)

• Specialized medical testing to better understand the specifics of my condition

• Medicines and nutritional supplements to support healing

• Living expenses to reduce the overwhelming effects of financial stress and allow space and time for me to recover

Throughout all this trouble and upset, my wife Sheree has been an absolute rock, both while bringing me the special broths I needed (several times a day - a logistical challenge) and keeping my spirits up while I was in the hospital (in isolation due to COVID-19). Since I’ve been home, she has provided tremendous home care and support, being available 24/7. Sheree has managed the stress and demand on her energy with grace, generosity, and optimism. Your support helps her as well.

COVID-19 to Long COVID

A major problem that surfaced during COVID-19 was damage to my throat that caused a complete inability to swallow and for the esophagus to allow food and liquids to pass into the stomach. At the same time I was not able to sleep at all for almost 3 weeks. If I started to fall asleep, mucus would block my bronchials and I would jerk awake suffocating – no meds relieved this condition. The combination of dehydration, starvation, and sleep deprivation was the perfect storm, landing me in the hospital for a month. As the COVID-19 infection passed, it became apparent that I was not bouncing back to my normal health. The doctors’ opinion, based on my lack of recovery and severe level of depletion, was that I had Long COVID.

My Long COVID symptoms include:

• residual problems with getting food and liquids into my stomach, complicating gaining back my strength and the 30lbs I lost

• extreme fatigue

• can barely walk even a short distance without help or a walker - a fall risk

• choking risk when eating

• cannot bathe on my own

• experience shallow breathing most of the time – shortness of breath

• extremely vulnerable to the effects of any kind of stress

• irregular heart rhythms

• confusion at times

• mental fatigue

• persistent muscle cramps and stiffness

• back pain

This may sound bad, and my experience is that it has been very rough indeed. In spite of how bad it sounds I harbor the strong belief that I will recover if I had the funds to access the healing activities I need. Thank you for taking the time to read this far.