My daughter didn’t have Long Covid
She could have. But she didn't. And the whole thing makes for an interesting "thought experiment."
Last year, I was an up-close observer of two “reverse anecdotes” related to Covid-19. A “reverse anecdote” is a scenario where the interpretation of a story might have been completely opposite if just one key detail had been different.
In the first case, my daughter experienced a series of illnesses and symptoms that could have easily been chalked up to Long Covid. In fact, she did not have Long Covid.
In the second, I saw someone nearly conclude that Paxlovid made their Covid symptoms improve dramatically over the course of just 12 hours. But as you’ll find out in a future newsletter (i.e., part II of this miniseries), I can definitively say that Paxlovid had nothing to do with it.
Now, I’m not sharing these stories to downplay Long Covid or to undermine Paxlovid’s benefit for Covid-19 in certain high-risk groups. Rather, the point is to demonstrate how easily our brains can assign narrative to randomness, and how, sometimes, lived experiences can deceive, just as powerfully as they can inform. Even as a physician, I am not immune to this. As tempting as it may be cling to a preferred narrative, we should always interrogate our assumptions—especially when health is at stake.
So, how do I know that my five-year-old daughter did not have Long Covid this past fall?
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Inside Medicine to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.