TENS OR EVEN HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS COULD ULTIMATELY
RETURN TO THE HOSPITAL.
JOINING US NOW IS MSNBC MEDICAL
CONTRIBUTOR AND FORMER OBAMA
WHITE HOUSE HEALTH POLICY
DIRECTOR, OUR FRIEND, DR. PATEL,
AND MARA, "NEW YORK TIMES"
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER AND MSNBC
CONTRIBUTOR AND IMPORTANTLY A
BRAVE PERSON WHO HAS SHARED HER
OWN STORIES ABOUT COVID, AND I
WONDER, TO YOU, YOU’VE TWEETED
ABOUT YOUR FIRST RUNS AND SOME
OF YOUR TRIPS BACK TO DOCTORS.
IS THIS OVERDUE, SOME OF THIS
SCIENCE AND SOME OF THIS
REPORTING ON THE LONG-TERM
SYMPTOMS OF COVID?
>> YEAH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR
SUPPORT, FIRST OF ALL, NICOLE,
AND FOR ALLOWING ME TO TALK A
LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT.
I APPRECIATE IT.
YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE TIME, THE
WHOLE PANDEMIC, WE’VE SEEN THESE
STORIES HERE AND THERE, AND SOME
GOOD COVERAGE ABOUT THESE
LONG-TERM EFFECTS, BUT THE
CONCLUSION THAT WE REACH IN
THESE NEWS ARTICLES AND FROM
DOCTORS WHO ARE INTERVIEWED IS,
WE JUST DON’T KNOW.
THAT’S FAIR.
THAT’S TRUE.
WE DON’T KNOW HOW LONG THIS WILL
LAST, WHO WILL FULLY RECOVER,
WHO MAY HAVE SOME LINGERING
SYMPTOMS OR SOME FLARE-UPS, BUT
I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO MOVE
NOW AWAY FROM THAT AND MOVE INTO
HELPING THIS LARGE GROUP OF
AMERICANS WHO WAS PREVIOUSLY
HEALTHY AND NOW NEEDS SERIOUS
SUPPORT, AND THAT MEANS
RESEARCH, DEDICATED RESEARCH.
THAT MEANS FINDING NEW
TREATMENTS AND SOMETIMES IT’S
GOING TO BE OLDER DRUGS THAT
ACTUALLY WORK WONDERS IN
LONG-TERM COVID PATIENTS.
THAT’S GOING TO BE EMOTIONAL
SUPPORT AND ALSO SOME PEOPLE ARE
GOING TO NEED TO GO ON
DISABILITY AND ALREADY HAVE.
SO, THERE’S A WHOLE
CONSTELLATION OF PEOPLE WHO ARE
DEALING WITH ALL KINDS OF
ISSUES, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW,
JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF
HOPE, I MEAN, I’M GETTING BETTER
SLOWLY.
A LOT OF US ARE.
SO, IT’S REALLY NOT ENOUGH TO
JUST SAY, WELL, SOME PEOPLE MAY
NEVER RECOVER OR MAY HAVE SOME
LONG-TERM SYMPTOMS.
WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE?
WHAT DOES HEALING AND RECOVERY
LOOK LIKE FOR PEOPLE?
AND WHERE CAN THEY GET THAT
HELP?
IT’S REALLY TIME TO START THAT
CONVERSATION.
THERE ARE GOING TO BE,
UNFORTUNATELY, MILLIONS OF
AMERICANS IN THIS POSITION.
>> MARA GAY, YOU STOP ME IN YOUR
TRACKS THE WAY YOU TALK ABOUT
THIS AND YOU ALWAYS CHANGE, I
THINK, HOW I THINK ABOUT WHY
WE’RE PROTECTING OURSELVES OR
PROTECTING OURSELVES FOR THE
MOST VULNERABLE.
WE’RE PROTECTING NOT JUST
OURSELVES BUT WE’RE, AS RACHEL
MADDOW NOW TALKS ABOUT, AFTER
SUSAN GOT SICK, WE’RE PROTECTING
THE PERSON ON THE PLANET WE LOVE
MOST.
BUT I WANT TO JUST PUSH YOU EVEN
FURTHER.
I MEAN, HAVE YOU BUILT YOUR OWN
COMMUNITY IN THE ABSENCE OF ALL
OF THIS?
WE DON’T HAVE ANY OF THIS.
WE DON’T REALLY TRACK THESE
PATIENTS.
WE DON’T HAVE THE EMOTIONAL
SUPPORT, REALLY, FOR ANYBODY.
WE JUST DON’T DO A GOOD JOB AT
THAT IN THIS COUNTRY.
BUT WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO
BUILD FROM YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE
AND YOUR OWN WILLINGNESS TO TALK
ABOUT IT?
>> SURE.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST BLESSINGS
THAT HAS COME FROM SHARING MY
EXPERIENCE, OTHER THAN PEOPLE
WHO SAY THANK YOU TO ME, JUST
FOR, YOU KNOW, FORCING THEM TO
TAKE THE VIRUS SERIOUSLY, ARE
THE AMERICANS WHO HAVE REACHED
OUT TO ME, OFFERING HELP.
SOME OF THEM ARE PULMONARY REHAB
SPECIALISTS WHO I’M WORKING WITH
NOW.
I’M IN PULMONARY REHAB TWICE A
WEEK.
I’M SOMEBODY WHO JUST, AS A
REMINDER, NEVER HAD ASTHMA, NO
PREEXISTING CONDITIONS, 33 YEARS
OLD WHEN I GOT SICK.
THAT’S HELPING A LOT.
I’VE TAKEN UP YOGA.
THERE ARE SUPPORT NETWORKS,
WHICH HAVE, I THINK, HAVE BEEN
VERY HELPFUL FOR A LOT OF
PEOPLE.
THERE’S THIS SMALL GROUP OF
DOCTORS IN THE COUNTRY WHO ARE
TALKING TO ONE ANOTHER WHO ARE,
YOU KNOW, THE EXPERTS, SO TO
SPEAK, IF ANYBODY IS, ON ALL OF
THIS THAT’S GOING ON.
THEY’VE BEEN VERY HELPFUL.
IT’S VERY OVERWHELMING AND
DIFFICULT TO FIND THE RIGHT HELP
AND THE RIGHT TEAM OF DOCTORS,
AND I THINK THAT’S ONE THING
THAT THESE SURVIVORS ARE DEALING
WITH, AND I THINK JUST
EMOTIONALLY SPEAKING, IT’S VERY
DIFFICULT TO GO FROM BEING
EXTREMELY -- PERFECTLY HEALTHY
TO HAVING A LONG-TERM OR A
CHRONIC ILLNESS THAT YOU’RE
TAKING MONTHS AND MONTHS TO
RECOVER FROM, TO REGAIN YOUR
LIFE.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, HAVING
SUPPORT FROM FRIENDS, I’M VERY
FORTUNATE, AND FRANKLY, ALSO,
FROM YOUR EMPLOYER, AND THE "NEW
YORK TIMES" HAS BEEN EXTREMELY
SUPPORTIVE AND UNDERSTANDING,
AND I COULDN’T DO IT WITHOUT ALL
OF THIS SUPPORT, SO I OFTEN
THINK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU
DON’T HAVE HEALTHCARE.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO AN ACUPUNCTURIST, TO A
ACCESS TO AN ACUPUNCTURIST, TO A
YOGA
ASIDE AND TREATED AS THOUGH WE
DON’T EXIST OR AS THOUGH IT’S