Hello All,

I write to you from my couch, where I have spent the better part of the last 3 months. As most of you know, I contracted a COVID-19 infection over Labor Day weekend in spite of the numerous precautions I take as a vulnerable person to prevent infection.

This covid infection has knocked me down, and I have not been able to get back up. In spite of taking Paxlovid and resting during the acute phase of my illness, I have been feeling and doing poorly long after I stopped testing positive. I have ongoing symptoms of fevers, chills, joint pain, malaise, and fatigue. I have been diagnosed with heart damage (left ventricle hypertrophy) and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome as a result of this most recent infection. I have not been able to return to work in person, return to my beloved Queer Chorus of San Francisco, or meaningfully participate in public life in the months since I was infected. Every day I wake up, hoping and praying to feel even a fraction of my prior energy levels. I have become a shadow of my former self, and I long to return to my prior baseline.

Long Covid is a poorly understood phenomenon. My primary care doctor is confined by what Kaiser allows her to prescribe to me off-label (nothing!), and there are currently no FDA-approved treatments for Long Covid. I have exhausted the roster of specialists at Kaiser and am continuously coming up against the same issues with insurance authorizations to prescribe off-label drugs for Long Covid. Similarly, Kaiser will not approve the only existing PreExposure Prophylactic that exists for acute COVID because I am not undergoing Chemotherapy, and I have not received a solid organ transplant.

After months of prolonged suffering, I have finally sought private (read EXPENSIVE) self-pay care from an Infectious Disease Specialist who is at the forefront of treating Long Covid Patients. He is starting me off with a prescription for 2 infusions, which cost ~$6,500 each without insurance. This is a cost burden that I am unable to bear on my own. I am humbly asking my community for financial support as I strive to regain my quality of life and preserve what remains of my health.

Thank you for reading, and thank you again for considering contributing to my recovery. The road has been long already, but your encouragement and support in this horrible time have and continue to make all the difference to me.

With love and hope,

Makenzie Boyle