Help Katie Kick LONG COVID
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Hi y'all!
This is not easy. Sharing details of “weakness” is not easy for me. Nor is asking for help. But I appreciate your support and kindness as I share my story.
For those of you who know me, know that I love to be active, and am filled with buzzing energy.
For those who do not… firstly, thank you for taking the time to read this.
A short background:
My name is Katie Miller. Since before Kindergarten I was playing tennis, soccer, and basketball and dreaming of being a professional athlete. During my junior year in high school I suffered a neck and shoulder injury during a soccer game that has become a life long issue. I played college tennis for a few years until the pain was no longer bearable. I graduated with dual degrees in education and taught in schools in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. A few years after moving to North Carolina to teach, I had the opportunity to hit the courts in a new role as Coach. It wasn’t long before I decided that I would like to merge my love of teaching and my love of tennis as a career in coaching. In 2019 when I was recruited for my current position as Director of Junior Development. This new career as a Tennis Professional was more than I could have imagined. My first year here I dedicated my time to being on court sharing the joys of my favorite sport. I was coaching 40-50 hours a week. I was even playing myself, and had the opportunity to go to Nationals with my 9.0 mixed doubles team. I was living my best life and beyond active!
Fast forward ... I am now a 35 year old who’s life has been completely changed due to COVID 19.
In June of 2020, I noticed I was starting to feel extremely run down. All I could do was go to work and come home and sleep. I thought it was just due to having those several weeks of quarantine “interrupt” my usual schedule and needing to get back into the routine of things.
In the middle of June I began having chest pain and trouble breathing. The chest pain felt like I was beaten with a baseball bat. A sneeze or deep breathe would send me to the ground. I was also experiencing dizziness and lightheadedness.
By August I was operating on fumes. If you do know me, you know I am extremely stubborn and try to fight through everything. On Tuesday August 11th I went to a general doctor and they ordered bloodwork. I scheduled an appointment for Friday August 14th to have the blood work done. However that morning after coaching for 3.5 hours I passed out on court.
I was taken to the ER where they did a chest x-ray, general blood work, and tested me for COVID 19.
My COVID test was NEGATIVE.
I was sent home from the Menorah Hospital being told it was “probably” vertigo. (they never checked my ears though)
For 48 hours I tried to sleep off the pain, discomfort and dizziness.
On Monday I tried to go to work and it was quite apparent I couldn’t be of help. I could barely walk 5 steps without having to stop to catch my breath.
I was grateful to have a dear friend help with getting groceries as I couldn’t drive due to the dizziness. She would also take Ellington out for walks because going up and down the stairs was an absolute nightmare that exacerbated the chest pain. She helped me advocate for my health and work to find doctors who listened and could give me answers as to how I could go from an elite athlete playing 9 matches in 2 days in October of 2019 to a year later not being able to walk 5-10 steps without having to stop to catch my breath.
The next two months I was in and out of doctors offices.
The first test I did was a stress echo – I couldn’t walk more then 3 minutes on the treadmill without having to stop. I was put on a heart rate monitor for 14 days and then again another one for 2 months. My lung function tests and CT showed that I have fluid and inflammation around my lungs which is what causes the pain.
Every time I had a procedure, I was tested for COVID 19. Always negative.
I couldn’t work on court from August to February.
For 6 months I lived on the couch. For a long portion of that I would have to crawl to the kitchen or restroom because standing and walking would cause my symptoms to to be 100x's worse.
Not working killed me. I thrive off working. The fun, the energy, the connections. I missed out on that for so long. I was fortunate to have a role that allowed me to work at home, but the idea that I couldn’t be active on court with my athletes broke my heart.
In January I was tested for the COVID 19 antibodies – the result was POSITIVE.
I met with my Pulmonologist again who put me on an extremely high dose of steroids to start reducing the inflammation and diagnosed me as a COVID LONG HAULER. I did experience more energy and was able to start working on court while on the steroids. In the past I could work 10 hours a day and feel fine. Now just two hours in a row and my pain and fatigue was through the roof. When I'm not on the court I am working from the couch resting because the chest pain and fatigue are so extreme.
A few weeks ago I was introduced to an Integrative Medicine Doctor who spent 2 hours listening to my story and is quite confident that the therapies she can offer can help heal my lungs and decrease the COVID LONG HAULER symptoms I am still dealing with.
Some of the therapies include:
- Hyperbaric Ozone Therapy
- IV therapy and supplements
- Prolotherapy
This doctor is not covered by insurance.
And with not working for so long, I find myself in a position asking for grace kindness, and help.
My hope is that I can begin these therapies in the next week or two and start to feel myself again.
I am asking if anyone feels drawn and comfortable in helping me raise the funds so I can afford these therapies.
I appreciate your time and any help you are willing to provide. <3
Thank you!
If you have any interest in learning more about LONG HAULERS , here is a great article.
https://health.ucdavis.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-information/covid-19-long-haulers.html
This is not easy. Sharing details of “weakness” is not easy for me. Nor is asking for help. But I appreciate your support and kindness as I share my story.
For those of you who know me, know that I love to be active, and am filled with buzzing energy.
For those who do not… firstly, thank you for taking the time to read this.
A short background:
My name is Katie Miller. Since before Kindergarten I was playing tennis, soccer, and basketball and dreaming of being a professional athlete. During my junior year in high school I suffered a neck and shoulder injury during a soccer game that has become a life long issue. I played college tennis for a few years until the pain was no longer bearable. I graduated with dual degrees in education and taught in schools in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. A few years after moving to North Carolina to teach, I had the opportunity to hit the courts in a new role as Coach. It wasn’t long before I decided that I would like to merge my love of teaching and my love of tennis as a career in coaching. In 2019 when I was recruited for my current position as Director of Junior Development. This new career as a Tennis Professional was more than I could have imagined. My first year here I dedicated my time to being on court sharing the joys of my favorite sport. I was coaching 40-50 hours a week. I was even playing myself, and had the opportunity to go to Nationals with my 9.0 mixed doubles team. I was living my best life and beyond active!
Fast forward ... I am now a 35 year old who’s life has been completely changed due to COVID 19.
In June of 2020, I noticed I was starting to feel extremely run down. All I could do was go to work and come home and sleep. I thought it was just due to having those several weeks of quarantine “interrupt” my usual schedule and needing to get back into the routine of things.
In the middle of June I began having chest pain and trouble breathing. The chest pain felt like I was beaten with a baseball bat. A sneeze or deep breathe would send me to the ground. I was also experiencing dizziness and lightheadedness.
By August I was operating on fumes. If you do know me, you know I am extremely stubborn and try to fight through everything. On Tuesday August 11th I went to a general doctor and they ordered bloodwork. I scheduled an appointment for Friday August 14th to have the blood work done. However that morning after coaching for 3.5 hours I passed out on court.
I was taken to the ER where they did a chest x-ray, general blood work, and tested me for COVID 19.
My COVID test was NEGATIVE.
I was sent home from the Menorah Hospital being told it was “probably” vertigo. (they never checked my ears though)
For 48 hours I tried to sleep off the pain, discomfort and dizziness.
On Monday I tried to go to work and it was quite apparent I couldn’t be of help. I could barely walk 5 steps without having to stop to catch my breath.
I was grateful to have a dear friend help with getting groceries as I couldn’t drive due to the dizziness. She would also take Ellington out for walks because going up and down the stairs was an absolute nightmare that exacerbated the chest pain. She helped me advocate for my health and work to find doctors who listened and could give me answers as to how I could go from an elite athlete playing 9 matches in 2 days in October of 2019 to a year later not being able to walk 5-10 steps without having to stop to catch my breath.
The next two months I was in and out of doctors offices.
The first test I did was a stress echo – I couldn’t walk more then 3 minutes on the treadmill without having to stop. I was put on a heart rate monitor for 14 days and then again another one for 2 months. My lung function tests and CT showed that I have fluid and inflammation around my lungs which is what causes the pain.
Every time I had a procedure, I was tested for COVID 19. Always negative.
I couldn’t work on court from August to February.
For 6 months I lived on the couch. For a long portion of that I would have to crawl to the kitchen or restroom because standing and walking would cause my symptoms to to be 100x's worse.
Not working killed me. I thrive off working. The fun, the energy, the connections. I missed out on that for so long. I was fortunate to have a role that allowed me to work at home, but the idea that I couldn’t be active on court with my athletes broke my heart.
In January I was tested for the COVID 19 antibodies – the result was POSITIVE.
I met with my Pulmonologist again who put me on an extremely high dose of steroids to start reducing the inflammation and diagnosed me as a COVID LONG HAULER. I did experience more energy and was able to start working on court while on the steroids. In the past I could work 10 hours a day and feel fine. Now just two hours in a row and my pain and fatigue was through the roof. When I'm not on the court I am working from the couch resting because the chest pain and fatigue are so extreme.
A few weeks ago I was introduced to an Integrative Medicine Doctor who spent 2 hours listening to my story and is quite confident that the therapies she can offer can help heal my lungs and decrease the COVID LONG HAULER symptoms I am still dealing with.
Some of the therapies include:
- Hyperbaric Ozone Therapy
- IV therapy and supplements
- Prolotherapy
This doctor is not covered by insurance.
And with not working for so long, I find myself in a position asking for grace kindness, and help.
My hope is that I can begin these therapies in the next week or two and start to feel myself again.
I am asking if anyone feels drawn and comfortable in helping me raise the funds so I can afford these therapies.
I appreciate your time and any help you are willing to provide. <3
Thank you!
If you have any interest in learning more about LONG HAULERS , here is a great article.
https://health.ucdavis.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-information/covid-19-long-haulers.html
Organizer
Katie Miller
Organizer
Lenexa, KS