VANCOUVER -- Atish Ram is still dealing with symptoms of COVID-19 a year after he was first diagnosed. 

The Surrey resident, whose lung capacity was nearly cut in half due to the virus, is one of many patients receiving ongoing treatment for the virus at three special post-COVID-19 recovery clinics across Metro Vancouver.

“I’m a lot better than I was last year but not the same as I was last year,” he told CTV News Vancouver.

“I don’t even know if I’m ever going to be back to normal,” he said.

In fact, just before sitting down for an interview, Ram had been at the hospital for a CT scan, which stirred up painful memories of his stay at the intensive care unit of Royal Columbian Hospital in 2020.

“I started having a little bit of a panic attack because ... it brings back these horrific memories,” he said. 

Ram was hospitalized shortly after being diagnosed with COVID-19 because he had lost his ability to speak. While there, things took a turn for the worst, and he nearly died. 

“They asked me to call my family to say what I needed to say,” he said.

“It’s frightening that I made it and I saw people that didn’t (make it).”

At one point, he said, doctors discussed intubating him and putting him in a medically-induced coma, but changed their minds at the last minute.

When he was discharged from the hospital he remained on oxygen for six months. Even today, Ram suffers from brain fog, loss of taste and smell, and has two dislocated discs in his back from coughing. 

“I still have issues with the lungs,” he said, “I just got a report back from my lungs, it’s only 63 per cent functioning,” he said.

Dr. Peter Birks is Fraser Health’s lead for the COVID-19 care network. It’s an interdisciplinary group of health professionals from across the province that are supporting patients like Ram, who are experiencing symptoms long after their diagnoses.

“There are lots of patients out there that are having long standing symptoms following infection with COVID-19,” said Birks. 

“At the beginning of the pandemic … we didn’t necessarily anticipate such prolonged symptoms.”

The three post-COVID-19 recovery clinics are located across the Lower Mainland at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver General Hospital, and Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre in Surrey.

“We started seeing patients in the Surrey clinic in January, and we’ve seen over 50 patients now,” said Birks. 

Some of the more common symptoms that seem to last are brain fog, fatigue and shortness of breath, he said. 

“When you’re having these long standing symptoms it can feel hopeless and very scary, but we are seeing people get better. The time frame is different depending on the patients and often hard to predict,” said Birks. 

The vaccine, he said, is the light at the end of the tunnel, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re still in the thick of the pandemic. 

“We still have a lot of patients who have had COVID and we’re still seeing more cases of COVID, so we’re going to continue to provide our clinical support for these patients and hopefully over time we’ll just continue to see the numbers decline,” said Birks. 

Ram hopes people will continue to follow public health rules whether they’ve had the vaccine or COVID-19 before. 

“I’ll wait my turn, I’ll get the vaccine and in the meantime I’ll wear my mask and wear gloves and I’ll keep a distance and safe because I don’t want to go through what I’ve gone through,” he said.

“Don’t just look after yourself, look out for others around you as well.”

As Ram navigates his continued struggles, he is grateful for one thing: his family.

“Many people’s lives have changed including mine, but I’m just lucky to be here with my family.”