My Unplanned Ultramarathon:
Living with Long COVID
A Year in the Life of a
Santa Barbara Runner and Patient
By Polly Sumner | December 15, 2022
Polly Sumner detailed the early months of her long COVID experience with us in February 2022. We checked in with her recently to see how she is doing, now a year into her journey.
On a spring Saturday, the boys tumbled into the house from a surf session, sandy and animated. While attempting to help with tar-bottomed feet and damp towels, I quickly became exhausted and went to lie down. My heart rate had done some real acrobatics lately, and I’d been wearing my sports watch to track irregularities.
As I tried to relax, my heart rate suddenly jolted, and I watched in shock as the numbers on the watch soared like a slot machine. I began to convulse and screamed for my husband to call 9-1-1. He and my 8-year-old son rushed into the bedroom. I thought I was having a heart attack, and this was it. I cried that I loved them and begged for my son to leave the room. He did not need this memory. A prompt EKG when the paramedics arrived did not indicate a heart attack, but I was advised I needed to go to the hospital. As I left on the gurney, my son stood to the side with my husband, bravely fighting tears. His expression pierced my heart.
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