Donell McCanless passed away at age 96 on April 17, 2023, at her home on the family dairy surrounded by her family. She is survived by her three sons and their wives/partners, Jack McCanless (Nina), Kurt and Judy McCanless and David and Debbie McCanless, seven grandchildren Randy McCanless (Ashley), Tami McCanless (Theresa), Jason McCanless, Beckie McCanless, Kenny McCanless, Lucas McCanless (Nichole), and Katie Chisam (Matt), and eight great grandchildren Korbin McCanless, Tatum McCanless (and her mother Dana McDonald), Tanner & Tinnley Pidgeon, Grady & Miles Chisam, and Hunter & Wiley McCanless.

She is also survived by her very special friends: Jackie Amos, Lucille Scilacci, Mary Enos, and Karin King.

She is preceded in death by her husband Jack McCanless, parents Claude and Ruth Hunter, twin brothers Elias Don Hunter, and William Austin Hunter, brother Dean Hunter, grandson James McCanless and daughter-in-law Marian Qualls

Donell was born September 22, 1926. Her mother instilled in her the importance of education from a very young age. She spent her life pursuing her own education and building the knowledge of others. She attended Petrolia High School until her senior year where she attended and graduated from Mountain View High School while living with a cousin in Mountain View. She married Jack McCanless on July 15, 1946, in Oakland, CA while attending the University of California at Berkeley. She graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1948 before she, Jack and their first son, Jack Jr. moved back to Ferndale. A few years later, once all her sons were in school, she continued her education at Humboldt State and got her teaching credential. Her first teaching job was at Price Creek Elementary (Grades 1 through 8). Donell was a substitute teacher at many local elementary schools and established her own preschool in her home. Lastly, she taught Special Education for many years at Ferndale Elementary, retiring after 40+ years teaching in 1994.

During WWII, she wrote to many service men she grew up with in Petrolia who were overseas, knitted scarves for the Red Cross and worked on a drydock as a welder in 1944. Donell was a life member of the Ladies’ Auxillary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars for over 75 years, a volunteer/historian for the Ferndale Museum for 45 years, and a member of the Ferndale Garden Club for 49 years, just recently making a trip to Petrolia (along with her good friends, Mary and Karin) to help start a new Garden Club. But, this amazing lady was perhaps most well known in Ferndale for her talents in spinning wool and her many knitted creations, from hats, sweaters and slippers to stuffed kittens and chickens, items most adored by her own great grandchildren. One of her proudest projects was the spinning of llama wool from an entire pack of llamas. Donell came by the art of spinning naturally, at a young age, and was taught by her grandmother, Lucy Hunter. Donell never met her great grandmother, but she learned that she had spun wool from a spinning wheel to make yarn many years before. Being the lifelong student that she was, she enrolled in a class to learn how to do just that. She was a much loved and proud member of the Humboldt Handweavers and Spinners Guild. She was one of the founding members of the well known and loved “The Folks” Craft Fair, where she met customers from all over the world, many who later became friends. This craft fair has continued for over 50 years.

Donell was a regular participant and blue ribbon winner for her baking, gardening and knitted creations at the Humboldt County Fair, and on one or two occasions won the prize for most blue ribbons overall. One year, she and her mother both entered apple pies, and when Donell came out the winner she joked that her mother likely wasn’t too pleased about it. She was also quite the historian, she loved the Ferndale Museum, and took pride in her many contributions of stories and historical artifacts.

Donell loved having her family close by, and was proud of the growth and success of her family members. She enjoyed supporting the many sporting events which her grandchildren and great grandchildren played, including soccer, basketball, football, baseball, softball and rodeo. When asked what she was most proud of, Donell mentioned her own graduation from U.C. Berkeley as well as seeing several of her grandchildren graduate from college, and one graduate from the California Highway Patrol Academy.

Donell was always curious. She delighted in meeting new people and learning their stories. She had many penpals around the world over the years, and loved to share stories of the people she met and corresponded with. Donell was always game for adventure, and took so much joy from trips she got to take with her sons, their families, and her grandchildren.

Donell was the cornerstone and matriarch of her family, and a pillar of the Ferndale community. She will be remembered as a fiercely independent woman, who lived a story of her own willful creation. To quote her dear friend Buck Miner, “If all the world could be like Donell, well it sure would be a wonderful spot to enjoy.”

A heartfelt thank you goes out to Beckie (granddaughter) and Mary Enos for their special TLC they provided to our Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma and friend, especially in her final days. We will remember this always. This grand lady was so loved and will be remembered by too many to count. Donell left her mark on this world, and gave each of us many stories to share and countless memories to treasure. Hers was a storybook life, with a storybook ending. She lived it her way.

Donell will be laid to rest at a private family burial service at the Ferndale Cemetery. There will be a celebration to honor her remarkable life on May 13, 2023 from 1 to 4 p.m. at The Ferndale Community Center. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Ferndale Museum or to your favorite charity.

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Art Ramsey — beloved husband, proud father, and super-proud grandpa (Papa Art) — passed away April 17, 2023 of complications of diabetes.

Art was born February 13, 1947 to Arthur and Alice Ramsey growing up in Blue Lake. He attended Blue Lake Elementary School and then Arcata High School. After Graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Although his tour of duty was during the Vietnam Conflict era, Art was lucky enough to have been stationed in Hawaii for his entire four-year tour on the Admiral’s Gig.

After which, happy to be home for a short while, Art traveled to Alaska for about a year where he worked in a logging camp. Winter set in, logging-stopped, Art returned home. With influence and help from his father. He was hired as a logger for Simpson Timber Co. in Korbel where he worked for 30 years. Semi-retired, Art was able to work for the Blue Lake Casino for about five years.

As a member of the Blue Lake Rancheria, Art served as a councilmember for 30 years. He loved camping, hunting, fishing, gambling at various casinos, watching his grandsons participate in sports, and reading a good book.

His wife of 48 years, Lynette (Costa), his son Zac Ramsey, daughter-in-law Rachel, and grandchildren Lukas, Easton, and little Gracie (Gracelynn) mourn his loss but are relieved that his pain and distress is over. He will be missed every day.

Art is also survived by his sisters, Dona Mueller in Hawaii, Arla Ramsey in Blue Lake and brother David Ramsey in McKinleyville as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Art is preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Alice Ramsey as well as sister June Ramsey. His beautiful young nieces Kindred Lewis, Savannah Kindred and Kira Norton.

A celebration of Art’s life is planned for June 3, 2023 at Blue Lake Casino’s Sapphire Palace, 12 p.m.-4 p.m.

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Wendell Lee Bott III, born on April 29, 1951 to Catherine Arlene Waldron and Wendell A. Bott in Enterprise, Oregon, passed away peacefully of COPD just shy of his 72 birthday on Saturday, April 22, 2023, in his home, surrounded by his family, in Fortuna.

Wendell served his country in the Army during the Vietnam War. He had many occupations in his lifetime but is most remembered for his many years working as a lumber and mill worker, most recently Palco Lumber Company, CM Rentals and Bott Family Lawn Care. Wendell was a family man; a loving father and grandfather, he deeply loved and cared for all of his children and grandchildren.

Wendell enjoyed cars and was very knowledgeable and mechanical. Wendell will be remembered for his sense of humor and his strength. Wendell will be remembered for his affection and his “love taps.” Taking care of things and people was Wendell’s gift to the world. He will be loved and missed by all of his family and friends. Wendell gave many memories to each of us that made us feel special.

He was preceded in death by his mother and father, his brother Jay Baker, and one bonus daughter, Jessica D’Vorak.

Wendell was survived by his sister, Terri Hagen, his wife Angela Jean Bott, his oldest daughter Jackie Lynn Carrillo, his daughter Deedee Arlene Bott, his son Wendell Lee Bott lV, his stepson Gary Thurston, his stepdaughter Christi Warren, his twin daughters Kimberly Zachary and Tiffany Garcia, his bonus daughter Samantha Perez, his son Eduardo Hernandez, his daughter Angel Warren, his daughter Treesa D’Nae Bott, his adopted daughter Geraldine Dawn Bott-Thurston, and his youngest son MichaelCharles Bott-Thurston who was also adopted. He was also survived by nine grandchildren: Trisha Burris, Kayla Hansen, Wendell Bott V, Antonio Hernandez, Kimberlynn Carrillo, Juno Garcia, Ezra Zachary, Sawyer Garcia, and Evelynn Zachary. Wendell had one great-grandchild, Addison Burris.

HUMBOLDT TODAY: The Humboldt Navigational Center, a hub for homeless services planned for Eureka, continues to move toward realization; Old Town Eureka now boasts some new traffic-controlling infrastructure; plus, a whale is dead. Those stories and more in today’s online newscast with John Kennedy O’Connor.

FURTHER READING: 

• [PHOTOS, VIDEO] The Carcass of Juvenile Gray Whale Washed Ashore and Is Now Rotting on the North Spit
• The Humboldt Navigational Center Will Begin Providing Services to Humboldt’s Homeless in the Next Two Years; County Staff Says, ‘I Wish It Was Tomorrow’

HUMBOLDT TODAY can be viewed on LoCO’s homepage each night starting at 6 p.m.

Want to LISTEN to HUMBOLDT TODAY? Subscribe to the podcast version here.

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A gray whale carcass was found earlier this week on the beach at Bunkers, a popular surf spot in the Samoa Dunes Recreation Area.

Researchers from Cal Poly Humboldt Marine Mammal Stranding Program responded to the scene Tuesday to collect samples, and according to Director Dawn Goley, this particular Eschrichtius robustus was a male juvenile measuring 27 feet long.

“It was emaciated but showed no additional signs consistent with a ship strike or fatal killer whale attack,” Goley said in an email to the Outpost.

Yes, orcas, aka killer whales, are known to attack gray whales. In fact, just last week, a 28-foot gray whale carcass — with fresh orca tooth marks in its flesh — was found stranded near Point St. George in Del Norte County. Days earlier, passengers on a charter boat watched and filmed as a pod of orcas attacked gray whales near Castle Rock National Wildlife Refuge. (Click on over to our sister site, Wild Rivers Outpost, for video of that encounter.)

Gray whales on the West Coast have had a rough few years. Since the start of 2019 they’ve experienced an elevated number of deaths and strandings, a trend that NOAA Fisheries has designated an Unusual Mortality Event. Between January 1, 2019 and February 8 of this year, 613 stranded gray whales were found between Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and the Chukchi Sea in northern Alaska, according to Humboldt Baykeeper.

In the past three years, no less than 10 gray whale carcasses have been found between South Humboldt Bay and the Oregon border, according to Baykeeper Executive Director Jennifer Kalt.

Independent scientists coordinated by NOAA Fisheries have yet to determine the cause of this Unusual Mortality Event. They’re using data and samples to study a possible causal link between the deaths and recent changes in the ocean and ecosystem.

In the spring, gray whales swim north on their annual migration from breeding grounds in Mexico to summer feeding grounds off the coast of Alaska, and Goley said that, even before the current Unusual Mortality Event, it’s not unusual for strandings to occur this time of year in northern California. Nor is the emaciated state of their carcasses necessarily reason for concern.

Gray whales fast during their spring migration, “and some simply don’t have the stored resources necessary to return to their summer feeding grounds,” Goley said. She and her fellow researchers performed a necropsy on the whale stranded at Bunkers, sampling the tissues to help determine the cause of death.

Video of the rotting, post-necropsy carcass can be viewed below.

If you should happen upon a stranded marine mammal, you can report it via Cal Poly Humboldt’s Marine Mammal Stranding Program hotline, 707-826-3650, or email them at marinemammals@humboldt.edu.

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PREVIOUSLY: 

• ’It Can’t Come Soon Enough’: Humboldt Supervisors Voice Support For New ‘One-Stop Shop’ Center for Homeless Residents

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The City of Eureka invited community members to a town hall discussion on Tuesday evening to share a progress report on the Humboldt Navigational Center – a resource center for local folks experiencing homelessness. 

The facility will be built on the vacant lot across the street from St. Vincent de Paul’s Dining Facility at the corner of West Third and Commercial Streets in Eureka. It will serve as a one-stop shop for the local homeless community, offering access to shelter, affordable housing options, public health benefits, job training and mental health support, all located under one roof.

“County and city staff have been meeting for well over 10 years [to look] for ways to assist our folks that are unhoused, and having a place [for them] to be during the day was always noted as a thing that was really needed,” Connie Beck, said director of the county Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said during Tuesday’s meeting. 

The Humboldt Navigation Center is modeled after Friendship Park at Loaves & Fishes, a day center for adults experiencing homelessness in Sacramento. Finding a place for homeless individuals to go during the day has been an ongoing issue for the City of Eureka and the local business community, said City Manager Miles Slattery. “[This is] something that’s been a long time coming, and I know this community has been looking for something like this,” he said.

During the day, the navigational center will provide a safe place for people to stay with access to storage lockers, a pet kennel, showers, restrooms, community classrooms, a computer lab, laundry assistance and a clothing closet. Social workers, mental health clinicians and substance use disorder (SUD) counselors would be available on-site as well. And at night, it will provide overnight shelter for local residents experiencing homelessness, including 11 individual rooms for individuals and/or couples.

There will be 24/7 security at the facility and staff will be trained in de-escalation techniques. Staff will work closely with the Eureka Police Department’s Community Safety Engagement Team (CSET), which already works closely with local homeless residents.

Hannah Ozanian, a homeless services consultant and former program director of Friendship Park, has been working with county and city staff to bring the project to life.

“The objective [is] to develop a central location for our local community … to really work together on these local challenges [surrounding] homelessness,” Ozanian explained. “[For] any community that is working in homelessness, the staff and volunteers are typically working so hard to get what they need to get done [that] they’re often burnt out and worn out. What we’re trying to do is not replace anything, but to try to support all these agencies by creating a space to come together.”

Ozanian | Screenshot

It’s important to bear in mind that every individual experiencing homelessness has a unique story, Ozanian said. And along with that, there are many reasons why some folks choose not to seek help.

“We want to create a welcoming, warm space where we can invite folks in, they can use our services, and as we develop trust over time [we will] be able to have those folks take the next step and seek housing,” she continued. “Of course, there will be some folks that will be apt and ready to go right away, but I’m speaking to those harder cases where [we] really need to work on trust in order to take the next step in services.”

Ozanian added that they’re looking for local organizations to be a part of the navigation center. “Not only do we need help but it’s necessary for working on these difficult, challenging and complex issues of homelessness,” she said. “It’s going to take all of us and all of these organizations to come together.”

During the public comment portion of the town hall, Nancy Olsen, CEO of the Eureka Chamber of Commerce, asked about the anticipated timeline for the project. Beck noted that the city and the county are still working with the property owner to negotiate the terms of the lease agreement but estimated that the facility will be fully built out in the next two years. “I wish it was tomorrow,” she said.

“All of the permits are in place, the building permits in place, the design review has been done, all of the planning and zoning permitting is completed – basically now it’s just contractual work that needs to be done,” Slattery added. “That’s the only thing that’s really stopping more construction right now.”

When asked about funding for the project, Beck said the county had received a chunk of change through the state’s Homeless, Housing Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care program.

“That’s the funding that’s used just to get this program started,” Beck said. “We also just applied for a grant that would fund the services portion for the next three or four years.”

Olsen also asked how the local business community can get involved once the facility is up and running. 

“We hope to have many different opportunities for businesses to come down and volunteer or just tour the facility so they can figure out what where they can fit within the overall project,” she said. “If there’s an artist that would like to come down to do a mural, or a group of nurses that would like to come and do some sort of foot clinic and give pedicures, or if there are just neighbors that can lend us different skills that they have – those are all things we need.”

Ozanian also underscored the importance of building positive relationships with business owners in Old Town. “For instance … if there’s an individual that needs help and is at a neighbor’s doorstep, they could easily call us and we could come and remedy what we could within our capabilities,” she said.

St. Vincent de Paul board member and volunteer coordinator Bob Santilli said he was somewhat concerned with the issue of “overlapping assistance to the community” and the possibility of having to compete for funding.

“But I’m happy that Hannah [Ozanian] and whoever else has listened and I don’t see things that we’re doing already being reapplied under that concept. I’m happy for that,” he said. “We want to have a kind of overlapping collaboration of sorts in that region to hopefully have a larger impact on what we’re trying to address.”

Eureka City Councilmember Renee Contreras de Loach asked if they could add more shelter space to accommodate more people in the facility or include a covered area outdoors. 

“There is a space for another building on the [East] side of the current location that we’re that we’re looking at [but] we’re going to start with this one,” Beck said. “This will be phase one, and then see where we go from here. We could definitely use more office space down there by that location, and if we were to do that, then we would want more housing above that space. Anywhere we can get more housing we want more housing.”

Contreras de Loach also asked about the number of animal kennels. Ozanian said there would be eight to ten kennels on-site but said the plan “could easily be modified.”

As a formerly unhoused person, Vernon Price asked how he could participate to “pay it forward.”

Price | Screenshot

“I’ve been housed now five years and this is something that has really been a desire in my heart is a navigation [center], and I know that has been in the hearts of some people that have been on the street for quite some time,” he said. “My question here is about volunteerism [for] people with lived experience: How can I pay it forward?”

Beck recognized Price and encouraged him and others to attend future public meetings and continue to provide feedback to staff.

Eureka Mayor Kim Bergel expressed her gratitude to county and city staff for their work on the project and encouraged community members to “grab an oar” and help out where they are able.

“This is a community issue and it needs a community solution,” she said. “That could mean dropping off your old clothes at the facility, dropping off a bag of toothbrushes; it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to engage with people, although that would be amazing as well.”

A bout with COVID-19 two years ago left Mindy Lym with such severe sensitivities to light and sound that she and her partner left their San Francisco home and moved to rural Washington, where there were fewer triggers. In the past two months, she has paid more than $7,500 out-of-pocket for medical care. Although she can afford it, she knows few people can do the same.

Stephen Mintz gets just $60 per week from disability, which he receives after the chronic fatigue from COVID-19 kept him from regular work. He spent all of his savings and borrowed money from family. Without more relief payments from the state, he doesn’t know how he’ll pay his bills.

COVID-19 sent Janine Loftis to the hospital in 2020. She relies on a caretaker after lingering symptoms like brain fog, pain and fatigue keep her from cooking or cleaning. But when Loftis’ caretaker took a month-long leave of absence, shortages ravaging the health care workforce made it impossible to find a replacement.

These are three out of countless stories of long COVID among Californians. Recent CDC surveys suggest 5.5% of California adults — roughly 1.5 million people — currently experience the ill-defined, mysterious and often debilitating collection of symptoms that make up long COVID. A majority of them, 82%, have some limits on their activity. While most of society rushes eagerly back to pre-pandemic life, these patients, known as “long haulers,” have been largely left behind by their communities, doctors and policymakers.

“It’s a pandemic of loneliness and social isolation and rejection,” said Ibrahim Rashid, a long hauler and founder of Strong Haulers, a startup app designed to make chronic symptom management easier.

These patients, known as “long haulers,” have been largely left behind by their communities, doctors and policymakers.

California long haulers can face years-long wait times to get into specialized clinics. Oftentimes they have to fight for disability payments or to be taken seriously by doctors. Lawmakers, despite holding hearings on the issue last year, have not introduced any proposals this session to assist long haulers. A budget proposal to increase long COVID clinic capacity at University of California health centers failed last year, and it’s unlikely with an expected state budget deficit that anything new would make it off the ground now.

Former state Sen. Dr. Richard Pan, who co-chaired a special hearing on long COVID last year, told CalMatters in February ahead of the deadline to introduce new bills that he hoped “people are paying attention to this” because long COVID will put new stressors on the health care, mental health and disability systems.

The Senate Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response was not reinstated this year. A spokesperson for Sen. Josh Newman, a Democrat from Fullerton who chaired the committee last session, said there hasn’t been any conversation about long COVID since last year.

Patients at the forefront

Instead, the policy legwork has fallen on two people: Lisa McCorkell, co-founder of the Patient-Led Research Collective who has suffered from long COVID since March 2020, and Art Mirin, whose daughter has a similar post-viral condition called myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Together, McCorkell and Mirin have drafted budget proposals, solicited letters of support from disability advocacy groups, and met with legislators and staffers. They’re doing the work that political power players pay lobbyists millions of dollars to organize — so far to no avail.

“One of the big issues with long COVID…is that the people who are the most motivated to do something about it have the least amount of energy and ability to cause a scene,” McCorkell said.

Despite struggling with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, a blood circulation disorder that can cause fatigue and brain fog, as well as other disabling symptoms, McCorkell has testified before Congress on long COVID, conducted research and pushed for California to do more for the population.

She and Mirin wrote last year’s budget proposal for the state to fund research, training and treatment centers at UC medical campuses and other academic centers. Mirin said it has been challenging to find a champion for this issue.

“People will say they support one thing or another, but when it comes down to an official public request, other things have a way of coming into play,” Mirin said.

Although five UC medical campuses have long COVID clinics, demand far exceeds capacity, said Dr. Anne Foster, chief clinical strategy officer for UC Health Systems.

“There are just a lot of patients out there,” Foster said. UC Health supports McCorkell and Mirin’s proposal but new state funding isn’t available, she said.

Officials with the California Department of Public Health plan to create a new COVID-19 Control Branch to monitor variants and outbreaks and support long COVID research, said State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan. The department is using some money from last year as well as seed money from the state’s $1.8 billion long-term COVID-19 preparedness plan to open the branch. However, proposed budget cuts make ongoing funding undertain.

“We are looking at that and trying to advocate for ongoing resources,” Pan said.

Without additional money from the state, Foster said UC Health has pivoted to developing a free continuing education training program for doctors on best practices to treat long COVID patients.

McCorkell and Mirin say the training modules aren’t perfect, but they’re an important resource for primary care doctors, especially considering most people in the state live too far from a specialized clinic to get help.

Many doctors haven’t heard of long COVID

Stephen Mintz of Fresno is one such patient living too far from specialized care.

Mintz avoided COVID-19 for more than two years, but in August he went to a bar to celebrate his 59th birthday. It’s there where he most likely contracted the virus. By September, Mintz found he didn’t have the physical or mental stamina to do much of anything. After two-and-a-half hours of activity, his limbs would get heavy and his thoughts would muddle.

“You could almost set a clock to it,” Mintz said. “Suddenly it would be very difficult to put one foot in front of the other.”

Stephen Mintz sits at the side of his bed in his apartment in Fresno on March 3, 2023. Mintz was diagnosed with COVID-19 in September and has had chronic fatigue since then. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

In January, Mintz was stacking chairs at a local bar where he works as a security guard. Within 10 minutes he got dizzy and couldn’t lift his arms anymore. It’s a common condition associated with long COVID called post-exertional malaise — pushing through the fatigue can worsen symptoms.

“I actually cried then. I’ve been depressed over this and frustrated,” Mintz said. “I couldn’t believe I’m so weak.”

Mintz went to his primary care doctor in Fresno for help. He said he thought he had long COVID and was met with skepticism.

“His first reaction was that he hadn’t really heard of it,” Mintz said.

On his disability paperwork, Mintz said the doctor wrote “general malaise and short-term amnesia” because he didn’t know how to diagnose Mintz and told him to call UC San Francisco, nearly 200 miles away, for advice.

“The doctor there said ‘Um, well, if you lived here you could be part of a research study,’” Mintz said.

“I’ve been depressed over this and frustrated. I couldn’t believe I’m so weak.”
— Stephen Mintz, patient with long COVID

It’s a common experience among people with long COVID-19. Though the pandemic has thrust post-viral illnesses into the spotlight, most doctors still don’t have the experience to treat the collection of more than 200 symptoms that make up long COVID.

Each new variant of COVID-19 also changes which symptoms are most common, making it doubly difficult for the average primary care doctor to diagnose, said Dr. Nisha Viswanathan, a primary care physician at UCLA Health’s long COVID clinic. The “vague nature” of many symptoms like fatigue and insomnia also lead to misdiagnosis and frustration among patients.

“It’s really challenging,” Viswanathan said. “If you’re not seeing a certain volume of long COVID patients, it can be difficult to recognize when a patient may be having it versus not.”

Mindy’s story

COVID-19 first hit Mindy Lym, a 37-year-old San Francisco native, like a mild flu with a fever and congestion. But on day five of her illness she looked at a text from her girlfriend who was isolating in a separate room and couldn’t make sense of the words. It looked like gibberish.

“That really scared the shit out of me,” Lym said. “I knew it had gotten into my brain.”

“We moved because of my long COVID. Being in a city with city noises…was completely untenable.”
Mindy Lym, patient with long COVID

She has spent every day since then chasing after an elusive recovery. Like McCorkell, Lym developed postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and wears compression garments like stockings and a corset to improve blood circulation. She also has mast cell activation syndrome, which causes an immune response similar to a severe allergic reaction as well as chronic inflammation.

For three months, Lym, who formerly worked as a music teacher and theater performer in San Francisco, could barely walk and needed a full-time caretaker to dress and bathe. Even soft noises and dim lights caused her “unbearable pain.” When construction outside her house led to weeks of jackhammering, Lym developed PTSD.

“We moved because of my long COVID,” Lym said. “Being in a city with city noises…was completely untenable.”

Mindy Lym has been living with long COVID since the summer of 2022. Photo by Celeste Noche for CalMatters

In September 2022, before moving out of state to rural Washington, Lym called the Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome clinic at Stanford Health Care. The clinic scheduled an appointment for her in October 2023.

“The demand has been extremely high,” said Dr. Linda Geng, co-director of Stanford’s long COVID clinic. The clinic sees about 12 to 15 new patients each week and has an eight-month average wait time.

Yet even as patients like Mintz and Lym struggle to get into a specialized clinic, UCLA physician Viswanathan said she has heard from multiple colleagues at other facilities that are considering closing their long COVID care clinics or reducing hours. Health systems are strapped for cash and facing a dire workforce shortage, said Dr. Anil Keswani, chief medical officer at Scripps Health in San Diego.

“We have increased supply costs. We have increased pharmacy costs. We have increased labor costs,” Keswani said. “How do health care systems invest in programs like long COVID clinics, like hiring more clinicians? Health care organizations have been battered over the last few years, but I don’t see any government relief.”

Some of Mindy Lym’s medications and supplements living with long COVID. Lym has been living with long COVID since the summer of 2022. After months of bed rest, she’s now living in Camas, Washington with her girlfriend where her symptoms are improving but are still a day to day challenge. Photo by Celeste Noche for CalMatters.

Nearly one third of the long COVID clinics in California told CalMatters they need more resources to expand capacity, increase awareness or train primary care doctors to recognize the signs.

“Ultimately, the real way we’re going to be able to expand or even keep these clinics functional…is going to probably be support at a state or federal level,” Viswanathan said.

Support also needs to come in the form of patient navigators and case workers for patients with long COVID, Viswanathan said.

Janine’s story

A patient navigator could help someone like Janine Loftis, who has battled for nearly two-and-a-half years to be seen by a long COVID specialist.

Loftis turned 73 in January, but physically, she feels much older. In November 2020, after laying in “the house for two weeks not knowing what to do,” Loftis called an ambulance. It was the middle of the night, she had COVID, and her oxygen level dropped. Family and caretakers couldn’t check on her for fear of infection. By the time Loftis was admitted to the hospital, she had viral and bacterial pneumonia and blood clots forming deep in her veins.

Loftis was already disabled from previous spinal injuries, but the persistent aftereffects of COVID-19 have floored her.

“It’s embarrassing how little I can do on my own,” Loftis said. “My body gives out on me. Things are just lost to my mind.”

Janine Loftis, 73, at her home in Elk Grove on April 26, 2023. Loftis suffers from long COVID; lingering symptoms from the original infection such as brain fog and chronic fatigue. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters.

The chronic fatigue and brain fog prevent her from going to in-person church services, and she recently gave her dog of nine years, Lily Grace, to an adoption agency after caring for her got too hard. When Loftis’ home caregiver took a leave of absence for four weeks, she couldn’t find a replacement. Long-standing workforce shortages intensified acutely during the pandemic, leading to “high demand and low options.” Without anyone to help her, Loftis “struggled really horribly” to manage daily tasks.

“I have a COVID test sitting out because I felt so bad yesterday. I thought, ‘Do I have it again?’” Loftis said.

Juggling doctors appointments and navigating the byzantine health insurance system is an added obstacle for Loftis.

“My head is spinning just trying to talk about it again,” she said. “I don’t know how lay people, especially disabled ones with a lot of distractions like pain or like me with brain fog, how they…understand it.”

“It’s embarrassing how little I can do on my own. My body gives out on me. Things are just lost to my mind.”
— Janine Loftis, patient with long COVID

Two months ago, Loftis finally convinced her primary care doctor to refer her to the UC Davis long COVID clinic, but her paperwork is “lost in a pile of things that need authorization.”

“It takes everything just to keep up with anything,” Loftis said. “When things get ignored or I don’t know the process, I just have to wait for it to play out. I’m the middle man. I can’t do anything.”

UC Davis Health did not make anyone from its long COVID clinic available for an interview. When asked about clinic capacity, the media relations division said in an unattributed email the Post-COVID-19 Clinic has the ability to treat “an infinite number of patients.”

Hope… with some caveats

There is a chance for recovery. Anecdotally, long COVID specialists interviewed by CalMatters said even if patients don’t make a full recovery, most see significant improvement over time.

“You look a year or 18 months out and the majority of people have had improvement if not complete resolution,” said Dr. Caitlin McAuley, a primary care physician at the USC Keck COVID Recovery Clinic.

A large study out of Israel found that among patients with mild COVID-19 infections, most symptoms resolved within one year.

Other studies, however, paint a less rosy picture, with few patients reporting full recovery. One study on French patients found 85% still reported long COVID symptoms a year after onset.

On the plus side, Mintz, who has had long COVID for eight months, has slowly regained his energy over time. He can go five or six hours without crashing, compared to two hours in January.

Mindy Lym has been living with long COVID since the summer of 2022. Lym keeps a food diary to note her reactions to different foods. Photo by Celeste Noche for CalMatters

And Lym, who has had long COVID for nine months, has also seen a marked improvement. In February, she enrolled in a private long COVID research and treatment clinic. Together with her doctor, Lym discovered certain foods exacerbated her most severe symptoms. Now, she has an 18-page list of foods she can’t eat and takes a medley of antihistamines, blood thinners and supplements daily. Though Lym is still disabled, her sensory issues are 95% better and her energy has steadily improved.

“I feel like I have my personality back. My fatigue is no longer limiting how I express myself…which is amazing,” Lym said.

But Lym’s clinic isn’t covered by insurance, and costs $1,000 per month plus the cost of any tests the doctor orders.

“It’s not accessible,” Lym said. “I know there are so many people going through what I’m going through but don’t have the resources.”

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.