‘Gapping for breath every two words’: Brussels singer testifies about Long Covid
A statement by the Brussels baritone singer Nicolas Achten once again draws attention to Covid-19. The Brussels resident was forced to put his career on hold. With his statements, he is taking on the various acts of the country to do more for people with long-term Covid. Meanwhile, researchers at UZ Brussel are looking for a suitable treatment for the condition.
“At the beginning of March 2020, I was infected for the first time,” Achten tells BRUZZ. “The first infection was quite normal. I then my smell and taste for a week. At the beginning of October 2020 I was infected for a second time. It started with a headache and a stuffy nose. Ever since I had concerts with my ensemble, I had myself tested as a precaution. The result turned out to be positive. However, I had been very careful.”
Five days after that positive test, received aching pain. “It was good when my lungs got smaller and smaller,” he explains. Every day I got a new life. I considered going to the hospital, but stayed at home because the hospitals were reserved for the vulnerable of older people. better done. My oxygen saturation was 85, way too low.”
“I didn’t get out of bed for two months”
And those symptoms continued for months. “I couldn’t get out of bed for two months. I had pain in my sternum, especially before and while sleeping and also had to gasp every two words. Now, after 15 months, I still have chest pain. I hyperventilate even when talking for a long time and with others.” The baritone singer can barely sing: “I can sing one or two lines.”
He had to stop his activities as a singer. The Brussels resident is still a lutenist, harpist, harpsichordist and conductor, although he also feels the impact of Long Covid. “My concentration and energy are limited. I can no longer handle normal productions with several rehearsal days and concerts of one and a half hours. Never mind the travel.”
This means that a main profession can no longer exist. “I hardly have any perspective, because I don’t know how long the plans will last. Fortunately, I am still a teacher at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.” But there too he had to slow down.
Remains a mystery
There are still many questions about long-term Covid. Physically, for example, the 36-year-old Achten was found to be in good health, but to remove all contents against the virus. The doctors were guessing at the cause.
“It’s about that you can no longer function as you could before and that due to various general, but also mental factors,” says Prof. Sabeth, intensivist at UZ Brussel, describes the disease. last to the brain.” That is the collective name for complaints, from fatigue, concentration and memory problems to anxiety, depression and insomnia.
According to the KCE (Federal Knowledge Center for Healthcare), Lung Covid affects people from all age groups. Both people who have experienced a severe form of Covid-19 and people who have a mild form. The symptoms are very diverse.
Top doctor De Waele also sees this: “The complaints are diverse and depend from person to person. I’ve seen marathon runners who can’t walk properly and see that as the biggest complaint, but we also have people in their 70s who can’t get out of bed because their muscles can be huge.”
Research UZ Brussel: “Bringing people back to their former self”
Visible, invisible and realized, long Covid is a disease with many guises and the applied structures behind it unknown for the time being.
Meanwhile, researchers at UZ Brussel are looking for better treatment techniques for the condition. A research team from UZ Brussel, led by Prof. Sabeth De Waele and Dr. Marc Schiltz, received a research budget of 400,000 euros.
With their research, UZ Brussel wants to first map out the consequences of long-term Covid. “What do the people with Long Covid look like? We want to learn what the specific problems are. So also in terms of well-being and quality of life,” says Sabeth De Waele. “We then offer specific guidance with physiotherapists and nutritional guidance to get to know the people with long-term assistance.”
“It is important for people that they can function as before as quickly as possible,” explains De Waele. “Running your marathon, getting out of bed, being able to send out an email, for example. Because it is sometimes very confronting to see what people can no longer do. We want to bring people back to their former self more quickly.”
“There is no support whatsoever”
The results of the research at UZ Brussel will be available within two years. In temporary, Nicolas Achten is asking for more recognition for people with long-term Covid.
“The government is not saying anything about Long Covid at all. There is no support whatsoever, not even financially. Many people with Long Covid lose their income because they can no longer work (full-time). Added to that are the medical costs.”
The Brussels singer and musician is therefore asking for more help from the government. In April 2021, the Federal Parliament’s Health Committee passed a resolution to recognize Covid-19 as a chronic disease. “But that’s it for now. Nothing has changed in the meantime. Minister Vandenbroucke has disappeared in the photo with Ann Li and Anne-Sophie Spiette from the patient associations for Covid, but nothing really happened.”
Coming out with his testimony is for Achten his way of taking action. “It’s not common in our culture to talk about health issues, but I think it’s important to do it anyway. It is not even wise for me to speak so openly about my health problems. But I do it anyway, because people need to know it exists.”