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French JuraRomeo, 10, has suffered martyrdom since his two Covids
The child lies 23 hours a day, suffering from unbearable joint and muscle pain. His mother bears witness to his battle.
Suffering from a long Covid, Roméo, 10, can no longer do anything except cuddle his cat, Berlioz.
DR – The Republican East
“There isn’t a day when he doesn’t tell me he wants to die because he’s in so much pain.” Hélène, Roméo’s mother, who lives with her family in Salins-les-Bains (Jura) near the Swiss border, is exhausted. Since her son’s first Covid in November 2021, then the second in January 2022, she and her husband have never stopped fighting. “His health problems appeared after the first Covid. In the weeks that followed, he kept falling. He broke his wrist, sprained his ankles twice. He had headaches.”
excruciating pain
January 2020, Romeo contracts the Covid again. “I guess it amplified the first one. Four days later, he had attacks every day with very violent joint pains. At the wrist, at the ankle. He couldn’t walk well afterwards, so he used crutches. Which caused him pain in his shoulders”, continues his mother who testifies in “The Republican East“. She recounts her fight with her husband to find out what ailment their child is suffering from, the emergencies, the prescriptions for paracetamol, the helpless specialists.
Skeptical doctors
The skepticism of the Faculty and doctors who go so far as to claim that Romeo is faking further increases the nightmare of this whole family in distress and their daily hell. The child is not believed, he would have psychological problems according to the practitioners. “Your son has nothing, he needs to go back to school. We are going to give him antidepressants,” his mother was heard to say, while his little guy who dreams of becoming a professional football player lies down 23 hours a day. He only gets up to eat, often moving on his office chair on wheels.
Covid long
No television, no tablet, a few minutes of reading, no more sport, no more school, no more going to play with friends… The slightest physical or mental effort has only caused him suffering for nearly a year. Romeo’s parents never let go, anxious to understand their boy’s long Covid. They inquire, seek, call specialized services, groups of patients and end up getting an appointment with an internal medicine specialist in Paris.
Le diagnostic
This appointment finally leads to a diagnosis on October 4th. Romeo is with myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Not easy to hear and accept, especially since there is currently no specific treatment. This disease, classified as a neurological disease, often appears suddenly, resulting in a rapid and significant deterioration in health. Today, the Jura family has an answer and organizes daily life as well as possible to help their child and continue research into potential effective treatments.