For most children who get covid-19, the illness is quite mild and passes quickly. But an unknown number of children in Sweden have contracted post-covid and for some of them the symptoms have become severe. 15-year-old Ima in Stockholm suffered from extreme fatigue and was initially advised to rest. For her, there is no energy at the moment and she can barely speak today, but communicates by pointing her fingers.
– Sometimes she can sit up and watch a movie. It’s really hard to see your child so ill, you feel powerless and frustrated, says her mother Alexandra in Nyhetsmorgon.
Haven’t been to school in 2½ years
12-year-old Eskil in Gothenburg has barely been to school in 2½ years. Today, when he is in grade 6, he has lessons on Teams 2 times per week, the rest of the time he is mostly lying on the sofa. Sometimes a friend answers on the phone, says father Erik.
Currently, there is no cure for the disease, only symptom relief. But at Crown Princess Victoria’s children’s hospital in Linköping, a study is now starting on children with just post-covid. But even if the symptoms can be alleviated medically in the future, father Erik feels frustrated:
– Even if a drug will be available in 5 years, it is still a very long time for someone who is 12 years old, he says.
Hear the parents testify about their children’s lives after covid in the player above.