TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) -- — Around midtown Tucson, medical doctors and nurses are helping people navigate through their long-COVID symptoms.
Experts in our community are already involved in several different projects to try and understand all the different ways the condition affects people who haven't felt like their normal selves weeks after the initial infection.
One research team in particular, though, hopes people give them a phone call. One of the college's unit medical chiefs said it's not just so a caller can help doctors or themselves.
They could also help patients going through the same experience.
Arizona residents can call or text the study team at: (520) 542-2970.
"(People) just sometimes need a shoulder to cry on," Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy said, "and they need some validation to say, 'You too are suffering from this condition, so this is not all in my head.'"
Parthasarathy has years of training and experience helping patients breathe and sleep better. But he shared that in many conversations, he's candid with patients and tells them he can't always truly know what it's like to live with debilitating symptoms.
"(One patient recently) looks at me and he says, 'Doc, do you have this condition? do you know how hard it is to you know, embrace the treatment regimen that you're giving me?'" Parthasarathy said. "I had to back up and I said, 'No, I don't suffer from this condition.'"
That's where a new peer support group trained by professionals steps in. The university's Community Engagement Alliance helped start a Long COVID Support Study for people who feel they haven't gotten back to normal 30 days after their initial infection.
When a person calls to sign up for the study, they will also get a mentor who's trained to help guide people through recovery.
KGUN 9 asked Parthasarathy: "There's the patient doctor relationship we sort of expect. (What) helps to distinguish the peer-to-peer relationship and why is that actually valuable?"
"If there's another patient who is in my seat, rather than me," Parthasarathy said, "the patient will be able to say, you know, 'I've used this for the past 10 years, this has made a huge difference in my life.' Now the patient as a peer can say, 'You know what? I've done it. So can you.'"
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José Zozaya is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. Before arriving in southern Arizona, José worked in Omaha, Nebraska where he covered issues ranging from local, state and federal elections, to toxic chemical spills, and community programs impacting immigrant families. Share your story ideas and important issues with José by emailing jose.zozaya@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
