‘Literally hell’: Unseen COVID-19 psychological impacts leave lasting scars on survivors

WINNIPEG (CityNews) — Matthew Cardinal had to learn how to walk and breathe again after a harrowing COVID-19 experience.

But it’s how to overcome the psychological scars that’s now concerning the 34-year-old Regina resident.

“I honestly don’t think I’m ever going to get over this,” said Cardinal. “It was literally hell.”

Cardinal was put on a ventilator and in a medically induced coma in the last week of March.

He still has dreams about the sheer number of deaths he witnessed while wondering if he was going to survive.

“You would see teams of nurses and doctors rushing over to that same room that they wheeled that person in,” said Cardinal. “And then not long after, they’re being brought out and they have a sheet over them because they passed away. That’s someone’s grandma, someone’s grandpa that just passed away.”

WATCH: Feds send COVID-19 help to Manitoba (May 25, 2021)

Manitoba ICU doctor Eric Jacobsohn expects there will an epidemic of post-traumatic stress disorders among these patients after the physical impacts fade.

“The psychological trauma to the patients who survive this, to the families, is just immense,” said Jacobsohn, intensivist and cardiac anesthesiologist at Health Sciences Centre and St. Boniface Hospital.

Shaneen Robinson-Desjarlais, a mother of three who was separated from her newborn during her near-death fight against COVID, says the psychological impacts are very real.

“You question a lot about yourself and life and it took a toll on my mental health because I was like, ‘who’s going to take care of my family if I die?’” she said.

WATCH: Manitoba patients die waiting for care (May 25, 2021)

Robinson-Desjarlais is now recovering at home and still fighting the physical impacts of the virus.

“Normal things like going up the stairs, even when I was nine months pregnant, I didn’t really lose my breath,” she said. “Now I have to catch my breath at the top of the stairs. That takes a toll on your mental health because you’re seeing a breakdown of your physical being.”

The Winnipeg mother has asked for support and says it’s important for people to talk.

Meanwhile Cardinal is thinking of setting up a support group specifically for COVD survivors in his community, and has a message for them.

“Yes, you’ve been through hell,” he said. “You’re still going through hell, but keep your head up, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”

Cardinal says he would like to see more psychological supports, specifically for COVID survivors.