Physical therapy part of El Paso man’s year of recovery from COVID-19
EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) — It’s been nearly two years since the coronavirus spread across the world and many COVID-19 survivors continue to struggle with lingering symptoms of the virus.
The term “long haulers” has become synonymous with COVID-19 survivors who continue to have symptoms months after getting the virus.
Long haulers are those with symptoms of stress, weakness, fatigue, brain fog and extreme inability to walk. The symptoms can last from four months to a year, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
At El Paso Physical Therapy Services, CEO Rodolfo Marin offers individualized physical therapy treatments for long haulers adding not only COVID survivors can get the treatment.
“ We offer first of all a free screening to all our patients in the El Paso community so that we can determine what deficits there are such as weakness in their arms, their legs, inability to walk or balance and then from there we set up a treatment individualized for them,” said Marin.
El Pasoan Eduardo Smith fell ill to the virus in January of 2020 before information of the coronavirus was available.
Smith’s wife, Jeannette Smith said when she took Smith to the hospital doctors told her Smith had a rare flu shortly before he was intubated for months.
Smith was intubated and unconscious for three months while in a Dallas hospital. Smith required the assistance of four people in order to stand, shower, get dressed and other daily life activities.
“When he came home he could barely walk, from here maybe to right there and he was already very exhausted and it was followed with machines, the breathing machine, the concentrator and everything,” said Smith’s wife.
When Smith arrived at El Paso Physical Therapy his physical condition was very weak. Smith was only able to walk about 10 steps with the help of a walker, according to Marin.
One year since starting his treatments, Smith has regained the strength to walk short distances on his own and stand and sit down without assistance.
