1er Symposium canadien sur la COVID LONGUE

Ann Fischer

I'm a photographer who documents the beauty around me as well as images that reflect how I feel on some of my darker days. I am attaching one of the latter for the symposium.

Medical Gaslighting by Brooklyn Johnston

She is a pea inside a pod by Kathleen Yearwood

This was a lino cut I began during the early healing phase after 7 months of disability. I had a stool to sit on and I tried to work a little longer each time at cutting the design. It was hard but it helped me to have a project and a goal. I made several prints for a friends book. This is a star- nosed mole in her burrow. My friend titled it "She is a pea inside a pod"

Acceptance by Charlotte Hedman

This is a series of self portrait photographs that I took. To me, they portray the feelings of having Long Covid.

Brain Fog by Charlotte Hedman

I'm still me by Charlotte Hedman

Sue T

This piece represents a long-covid journey from darkness to relative brightness as I grapple with the ups and downs of this debilitating condition and learn to accept that I want to live as the best "me" possible, despite my limitations.

C. longue by SZ

My experience of Long COVID, which in French is "COVID longue", is represented here by a concrete chaise longue. The chaise longue has been held as an icon of psychoanalysis; it is the chair on which the patient would lie down and be subjected to the therapist’s dissection. This captures my journey with Long COVID/COVID longue. I have been forced to lie on a cold, decrepit chaise longue and be scrutinized, pathologized and dehumanized for having real physical symptoms. My lived experience of this condition has been reduced to having a mental illness - one that comes with condescension and stigma, not support and empathy the way all mental illness should be treated.

Long COVID is not “all in our heads” as it has been proposed to be, and the individuals who live with it should not be forced to endure ridicule and judgement because of the lack of understanding about this condition. I refuse to lie on this chaise longue.

Liz Anderson

I was doing a series of self-portaits in April and wanted to capture my experience with Long Covid. I took the photo on film that I developed myself at home.

Rosalie Trépanier

My drawing shows someone in the boat with a long covid. She's in such a fog that she's almost obliterated. She's lost. The signs in French says in English "This way to get out of this" but there are no indications, there's no help available either.

Long Covid Comix (1) by Joel Semchuk

Long Covid Comix (2) by Joel Semchuk

Long Covid Comix (3) by Joel Semchuk

Long Covid Comix (4) by Joel Semchuk

Long Covid Comix (5) by Joel Semchuk

Long Covid Comix (6) by Joel Semchuk

Wish Poem by Leeya Raj

This is a wish poem about a wish I held on to for the longest time. As I got sicker over time, I learned though emotions that wishes fade and grow. My wish was to go back to my old life and get back everything I lost, which faded over time, but never fully went away. I will always cherish the memories of my old self. I now know after living life with Long Covid for 4 years, that no matter how much I wish for my old life to come back to me, I have to live with the life I have now and that's okay.

Eva Lewkowicz

The art that is being submitted represents hardships that my brother has faced during his medical journey with long covid. It also represents the challenges that the rest of the family experienced as my brother lost so much in the last two years. The tears he cried are just as real as long COVID and we want people to recognize that!

Emily Rozee

This is a piece showing my full- body experience of long covid. Sometimes I can only lie down; I miss a lot of school and have very little energy to play, exercise or even shower. Long covid stole my life.

smad by Hadley Thompson

She describes her brain as "smad" at her worst which means sad mad.

ok by Hadley Thompson

jhappy by Hadley Thompson

She describes her brain as "jhappy" at her best which means joyful happy.

My Family's Long COVID Story by Jennifer Thompson

This piece of artwork shows how my family has been affected by Long Covid and all the different symptoms we each have.

A Day with Long COVID by Charlotte Hedman

This poem is about how I feel living with Long Covid. I wrote it both to say how I'm feeling and thought it would resonate with the millions of people who are going through the same thing.

Journey through Long COVID by Charlotte Hedman

This poem tells of where I'm at in my journey with Long Covid right now.