Long covid changed my son from a high-energy 8-year-old to being too exhausted to play

"...it brings out behavioural symptoms including separation anxiety, some obsessive-compulsive tendencies (OCD), mood swings, and extreme difficulty regulating emotions..."

Paul O'Connell and his son Jake, 8, who has Long COVID, suffers with pain, exhaustion and brainfog. Jake has been diagnosed with Paediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome, PANS, which was triggered by the COVID virus and further complicates his recovery. Photograph: Moya Nolan

Before covid, life was ‘normal’ for us all, for Paul O’Connell and his family, it changed dramatically during covid, particularly for his eight-year-old son. Jake suffers with long covid symptoms including PANS (Paediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome). Jake has contracted covid three times.

Within two years, Jake went from being a typical high-energy boy who loved the parks, swings, and playing frisbee with his friends to being completely exhausted and unable for playgrounds and going out with his friends.