Long COVID, which is affecting millions of people, has upended my husband Dave's life.

For the last 16 months Dave has been suffering from Long COVID after finally getting COVID for the first time in August 2024.

*( As of today, March 3, 2026, it's going on 19 months.....)

Long COVID is new enough that there's still very little known about it and very little clear understanding of how to treat it. There are no grants that we've been able to find and no funding for people who are sick from it.

Most people don't know how debilitating it is for those who have it...except their families and close friends who are directly affected by their inability to participate in life as fully as they used to.

Dave's symptoms include a deep and unrelenting fatigue, similar to chronic fatigue syndrome. His head is often 'wobbly' or unclear, so his thinking is slower. Some days his head can feel mostly normal, then part way through the day or the next day he'll feel foggy again. His muscles get sore and achy after even mild exertion (and there is a lot of physical exertion in a wood working shop! ) and his muscles hurt and cramp randomly, out of the blue, causing him to drop things or stumble.

Due to all of these symptoms he's clumsier and off balance, and they interfere with his ability to get the work done. His confidence is very low now; to the point of hesitating to take jobs because he doesn't know and can't control how long it will take him to complete anything.

Dave's work is designing and building custom cabinets, and building and restoring furniture. His work is physical and at times complex.

He has been struggling to recover, but every time he begins to feel better he has a relapse....possibly due to the continual pressure to keep pushing work out the door as much as he can, as this is his only source of income; he often has to go to work 7 days a week, to try to make up for the slowness and hours spent resting during the week. It's not going well! Studies show that the more you push and exert yourself physically the slower the recovery...

Who is my husband Dave?

Someone who is always looking out for people, trying to benefit them and make their lives better! He has often done this in his life working on the boards of non-profits, either for Natural Building, Women's Health, or environmental issues such as Riverkeeper.

In our personal life together Dave is my best friend...the partner I never dreamed was possible. He's always looking for ways to support me in all my projects and endeavors. He's constantly trying to take the weight of his illness off of me...which translates to doing more than he should be doing.

He's the first one in the neighborhood to run out of the apartment when there's an emergency going on, to see if he can help!

And now we need _your_ help!

He's been able to work only intermittently; going to work every day, but needing to rest frequently and having trouble thinking clearly enough to organize the jobs in front of him effectively.

He's been on a whole regimen of different kinds of supplements and things that help with mitochondrial repair and muscle tissue repair and his symptoms have sometimes abated a bit but then they always recur...right now he is waiting for a January appointment with a Long COVID specialist at UCSF.

He has incurred quite a bit of debt as he hasn't been able to keep up with his shop payments. He is asking for $40,000 - 50,000 to get out of debt, try to rest and recover more and to support transitioning into a smaller more affordable shop that his reduced work ability can more easily sustain.

We are now in our 70's and without adequate funds to consider retirement, we are facing the reality that Dave may not fully recover - without the adequate rest that he needs.

We'd like to be able to move out of the Bay Area, at least up to the North Bay, where our son and grandson live and where we used to live, but even the transition time will be quite expensive while we're not able to work in our usual capacity....while disassembling our lives here in order to reestablish somewhere else. Staying where we are with the high cost of everything isn't a viable option given this situation.

I've been doing bodywork for a living most of my life which I still love, but I am not able to support us both and provide a bridge to starting over in a new location... I am planning to continue doing bodywork by commuting to my two offices.

Whatever help you can offer will get us closer to the goal of more rest, recovery, and a different living situation.

Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts!!!

Deirdre and Dave Hormel