MANSFIELD, Texas — Katie Callaghan opened a wide set of barn doors and greeted her horses. It was the moment she thought would never come again.
The 28-year-old Mansfield woman is back on the ranch after several months of fighting for her life.
“From Christmas, I’ve actually spent a total of 55 days in the hospital,” Callaghan said.
WFAA first interviewed the horse trainer in December 2021. At the time, she was in the hospital battling COVID and alone on Christmas. Callaghan, who already had a weakened immune system, developed a severe COVID illness, despite being vaccinated.
Her only new year wish was to get back home to her horses. Last week, she finally returned home from the hospital, but she’s still in a hard-fought battle. Callaghan is now battling long COVID, also known as post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC).
From Christmas until February, Callaghan has been stuck in a hospital room. At one point she was released for a couple of days, only to have to return to a hospital bed. She spent several weeks on oxygen machines - and that was just the beginning.
“All my muscle had atrophied. I had to relearn how to walk,” Callaghan said.
Callaghan is trying to overcome the illness by undergoing weekly physical and occupational therapy sessions. She hasn't been able to return to her job as an agriculture teacher due to the ongoing illness. Up until last week, she was still using a walker. Her horses are part of her therapy exercises.
Last week, she took her few steps alongside her horse without a walker for the first time in months.
“The hardest thing is that my mind says, 'I’m fine,'” Callaghan said.
While her mind wants to move forward, her body says otherwise. After five minutes of brushing her horse, she was too drained to keep standing and had to sit down.
“If I don’t take a break, I end up really, really bad,” Callaghan said.
A Mount Sinai study found that long COVID can affect patients for at least a year.
For Callaghan, the symptoms have been debilitating both physically and mentally.
“Why can’t I do the things I used to be able to do?” Callaghan asked.
She doesn’t know when she’ll truly feel like herself again, so she takes it day-by-day and one step at a time. These days, the horses she once trained, are helping her learn to walk again.