Living with long COVID: Robert DeRosa says he's 'missing out on life' 4 years after getting COVID-19
A Canadian man lost his teeth, his job and his hobbies due to COVID-19. Here's how his life was "forever changed."
Four years after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, Yahoo Canada spoke with several people still living with long COVID. Read their stories HERE.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Contact a qualified medical professional before engaging in any physical activity, or making any changes to your diet, medication or lifestyle.
Canadian Robert DeRosa, 41, began losing his teeth four years ago.
A week before going to the dentist in March 2020, he felt a discomfort in his jaw and his teeth were becoming loose. A few weeks before that, DeRosa had been on vacation in Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, when he suddenly began to experience a high fever, chest congestion and a cough.
"It was a sickness that I'd never experienced before. It was incredibly intense and I knew that something wasn't normal," DeRosa recalled to Yahoo Canada. He had to get three teeth taken out.
He now knows what he was experiencing — and still is — was long COVID-19. The congestion, cough and even the tooth and bone loss were early symptoms of what would eventually become a debilitating and life-altering sickness.
"My life has been forever changed," he said. "My days right now are challenging… All I am doing is trying to put out fires, look for doctors, fill out medical forms and try to survive." DeRosa was officially diagnosed with long COVID in 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was living at the time. He has since returned to his family home in Hamilton, Ont.
It's been four years since the first case of COVID-19 community transmission was confirmed in Canada, and the world is approaching the March 11 anniversary when the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic.
According to Statistics Canada, about one in nine Canadian adults has experienced long-term symptoms from a COVID-19 infection. Additionally, 70 per cent of Canadians with long-term symptoms experienced them on a daily or nearly daily basis.
'I feel like I'm missing out on life'
DeRosa's symptoms developed into extreme daily fatigue, shortness of breath, insomnia, brain fog, headaches, heart palpitations and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Some of the more unusual symptoms, like a burning sensation on the bottom of his feet and top of his head, which led to some hair loss, have left him confused and searching for answers.
"I feel like a shadow of myself," DeRosa said, adding he feels far removed from the life he was living before he was sick.
DeRosa enjoyed running in marathons like the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, which he ran in 2017. Several years before that, he ran the Sundown Marathon in Singapore, where runners have to complete the 42 kilometres before sunrise. In between working, he would go to the gym three times a week and participate in boot camps like military-style obstacles and callisthenics and weight training.
In 2014, DeRosa also climbed Mount Everest Base Camp. He enjoyed adventure travel, going to spots like Malaysia and trekking and cycling off the beaten path.
Work was also a kind of an adventure for DeRosa. He was an international school teacher in Japan, Singapore and Canada for 13 years. Before he became sick, he was waiting for his work permit to be accepted in the U.S., so he could combine his experience in education, with his background and master's degree in public policy. He was looking into jobs that would provide support services to international students.
"Now, it feels like I'm living in slow motion, but life just keeps going," DeRosa said. "I can't get things done. My life is spiralling out of control and I'm just trying to stay afloat… I should be in the prime of my career and yeah, it's really sad. I feel like I'm missing out on life."
How long COVID makes survival difficult
DeRosa struggles to comprehend how he went from writing an 80-page thesis not so long ago, to the inability to put together his resume. He restored to hiring a resume writer and said she struggled to make sense of his notes due to his brain fog.
Due to his lack of income, DeRosa was evicted from his place in Atlanta, Ga. and he has been staying at his parents' house in Hamilton, Ont. since August 2023. He said it's been difficult being financially dependent on his parents who are both retired and wishes that he could be taking care of them, rather than vice versa. "It's awful. I don't need an extravagant life, but if I didn't have my parents, I would be homeless," he said. "It's disheartening."
If I didn't have my parents, I would be homeless.
DeRosa has had to file for bankruptcy, unable to keep up with student loans, car payments or medical bills. Because he doesn't have a family physician in Canada, he hasn't been able to access the Ontario Disability Support Program.
Still, he remains optimistic.
"I've accepted where I am and what my limitations are… and I'm a fighter," he said. "I just don't want to waste any more of my life."
DeRosa accessed a couple of the long COVID clinics when he was in the U.S. and said there is hope in some of the trial drugs currently being offered. He remains positive that something will soon be offered to alleviate his symptoms.
"It feels like an uphill battle. It's been four years now. I just want my life back."
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