RECOVER Representative Profile: Aimee Peddie

When Aimee Peddie’s daughter, Sydney, got COVID in January 2022, she had just turned 15 and was a dedicated level 9 gymnast, with 10 being the highest rating. Unfortunately, Sydney went on to develop Long COVID symptoms that significantly altered her and her family’s lives.

“Her illness has consumed her life for 2 years and has taken away everything she ever loved,” says Aimee, a RECOVER Representative and mother of three from Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Her life has completely changed. It has affected her physically and taken a mental toll as she tries to find a new version of herself.”

Sydney’s struggle with Long COVID

Sydney lost the ability to do gymnastics within the first month after getting COVID. Her symptoms, which included body aches, stomach pain, and dizziness, were so severe that she was hospitalized for four months. Because most of her tests came back normal, pediatric doctors told Aimee to see a psychologist and even proposed that Sydney had Munchausen Syndrome, a psychological disorder where people pretend to be sick when they are not.

Fortunately, Aimee found other doctors who agreed that Sydney was having a post-viral response to COVID. Sydney has since received diagnoses for multiple health conditions and is being tested for others. She continues to struggle with pain throughout her body, weakness, and difficulty digesting food. Aimee explains that most of Sydney’s current doctors agree that Long COVID has affected her autonomic nervous system, which controls the function of internal organs like the heart, lungs, stomach, and intestines. “Signals are just not being sent correctly to the majority of her body, causing a multitude of symptoms,” she says.

Getting involved with RECOVER

While searching for pediatric Long COVID clinics, Aimee discovered the RECOVER Initiative, and signed Sydney up for the pediatric observational study. Aimee and Sydney chose to enroll in the pediatric study because they hope it will lead to eventual treatments that will prevent other kids from having her experience, and they hope it will give some purpose to Sydney’s suffering.

In fall 2023, Aimee accepted an invitation to become a RECOVER Caregiver Representative with the Pediatric Cohort, in hopes that sharing her and her daughter’s Long COVID story will help others have better experiences in healthcare settings. Patient and caregiver perspectives are a valuable part of the design of RECOVER studies. Aimee notes, “By studying kids in RECOVER studies and talking to the families and asking questions through the surveys, you are getting a story that is often overlooked or discounted in most medical circles."

Aimee is grateful that the RECOVER Initiative is working to better understand and validate the experiences of young people who live with Long COVID. “For my daughter, the most beneficial aspect has been that someone actually believes her and wants to study her in hopes of finding a treatment. She's grateful to just have the validation RECOVER provides.”

Ultimately, Aimee wishes that their participation in the RECOVER Initiative will lead to treatment options or a cure for Long COVID. “For me, it's the hope that maybe someday the research being done can lead to a viable treatment to help her live a normal life again.”