Santos back in 2022 as she was dealing with the effects of long COVID.

- You look at me, you think, oh, she's just, she's fine.

There's nothing going on.

And it's like, a little do you know my back is like on fire right now.

- We met again recently at her home in Providence.

Three years later, how are you doing?

How are you feeling?

- I'm feeling better, still with some residual effects.

The big famous cough, that just doesn't go.

Body pains that were not there from before.

Literally they did come right after the COVID.

- [Michelle] While many have tried to forget about the pandemic, Santos says she is reminded daily how it's upended her life.

- It's like the constant soreness throughout my body.

It's like, I can feel it in my back, I can feel it in my knees.

It's just pushing through the pain on a daily basis.

- The most debilitating symptoms continue to be that I like, just can't even stand without issue.

- [Michelle] Ti Dinh spends most of her time at home in Providence where she likes to knit.

Getting up to do just about anything has been a challenge since last summer.

Soon after getting COVID, she began experiencing an onslaught of symptoms.

- For about a week after I had recovered.

I got, yeah, like a debilitating, like a light intolerance where I would just get really dizzy and faint if I saw any light.

- [Michelle] Dinh says the light intolerance is so severe she constantly wears sunglasses, even at home with the shades drawn.

She says her symptoms have changed over time making life more difficult.

- For a while it was more the light and some breathing issues and then I started getting kind of muscle issues where I just like was not able to really walk.

Standing was always an issue, I would fall.

- [Michelle] Dinh shared this video of her shaking uncontrollably as she tries to brush her teeth.

She says it usually happens at night, but on this day it carried over into the next morning.

- And I even only took that video because so many medical professionals are insisting on like more and more evidence to believe me.

- [Michelle] The causes of long COVID are still being investigated.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, studies have shown some groups of people are more likely to develop long COVID than others, including women, Hispanics and Latinos, and people who've experienced more severe COVID-19 illness.

- It can be frustrating because it is a long process sometimes by which to get that diagnosis.

- [Michelle] Brandon Theroux is a physical therapist at Spalding Outpatient Center of Kent Hospital in East Greenwich.

He understands the challenges many long COVID patients experience, especially since there's no way to test if a person's symptoms are caused by long COVID.

- A lot of times we'll go through a lot of testing and for a long period of time that may ultimately not give them any specific results or might not give them any more information than they had before.

- [Michelle] Theroux works with patients who have long COVID.

Many of them were referred by their primary care physicians - On people's first day here, you know, we'll do a little more exploring and try to make a more specific diagnosis.

Try to identify what limitations or impairments they might have and ask them what their goals are and what their, you know, hope is to return to, or what we can do to make their life a little easier or better.

- From there, Theroux will measure different baselines like motion and strength and help patients establish a plan to return to their prior level.

What has been the most challenging part of treating patients who have long COVID?

- I think the most challenging thing is, especially for the individuals, is that a lot of times it takes a long time.

- [Michelle] Santos received physical therapy several years ago and says it helped her regain her strength.

She recently went back for treatment.

- I want to get better physically, but it's just so tough.

The breathing and pairing with like the knee problems are, it's really tough.

- [Michelle] It's been a struggle since April of 2021.

That's when Santos was placed in a medically induced coma at Rhode Island Hospital with COVID-19.

At the time, she was five months pregnant.

- Doctors wanted to take me off of the life support.

They did not believe I would survive.

They did not think that I would make it through it.

My family completely opposed it, you know, my husband definitely opposed it, and I thank God they held on longer because I did, I pulled through.

- [Michelle] Santos was in a coma for a month and a half.

When she woke up, she learned she had given birth to her daughter.

Charlotte lived for eight days and passed away while Santos was still in a coma.

- I feel like she gave up her spot so that I would still be here, and we just need to take care of ourselves and a lot better.

And I'm sorry, I still get emotional over that, but she was a trooper and she fought as hard as she could and she allowed me to be here, but she allowed my body to heal.

She allowed it and if she was there, it made it harder because my body would've been fighting for two as opposed to one.

- You feel like she saved your life?

- Oh, absolutely.

Absolutely.

- [Michelle] For Ti Dinh long COVID has been crippling.

She's currently on medical leave and says physical therapy would make her symptoms worse.

Her sedentary lifestyle is a different reality from what life was like before getting COVID.

At the time she was working in a metal shop shaping the material into different items.

But these days.

- I am completely dependent on care right now and sometimes I have to call specialists to see if they have cancellations that day to try to get in any sooner, 'cause some of their wait lists are like 10 months long and right now my watch is telling me that my heart rate is freaking out, which happens even when I'm knitting or just laying sometimes.

- [Michelle] Dinh sees several specialists and as part of a digital long COVID support group.

She says it's frustrating how some doctors have treated her.

- I've had those doctors too, where they're like, this is just anxiety.

Like, if you take these anxiety meds, you'll stand again.

You'll like walk again, which is just not true.

- [Michelle] Dinh says she's grateful to have a supportive partner and group of friends, but still, every day is a challenge.

- I'm getting a little, I'm getting emotional because I was supposed to go on my first home going trip to Vietnam with my family at the end of this month.

And I also was, yeah, I just, you know, it's just a lot of plans this year that we've had to cancel.

And a lot of people are like, don't worry, you can like, reschedule a flight for a year later.

And then I just, you know, I don't, I don't know how long this is gonna last.

- [Michelle] According to the World Health Organization, long COVID symptoms typically improve after four to nine months.

About 15 and 100 people still have symptoms at 12 months.

As for Santos, she's not dwelling on the difficult years she's endured.

She's focused on her recovery.

- Life does go on, can't stay stuck in the same place.

We gotta move forward.

That's how I feel about it.

Will I physically be the same?

Absolutely not.

Will I be the same mentally?

Absolutely not.

But we have to just keep moving forward.

I can't get stuck on yesterday when I already overcame it.