This column is an opinion from Dr. Christine Gibson, a family physician and trauma therapist in Calgary. For more information about CBC’s Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

My grandfather had polio as a child. I remember he walked like a newborn colt, shaky and slow. He described to me weakness so severe as a kid that he would walk on his hands to get to school. Pain, bullying, and hopelessness led him to start smoking at age eight. It changed his personality, his abilities — really his entire life.

As a family doctor, I’m seeing the potential of long COVID becoming the