Most young, healthy people experience mild to moderate symptoms for one to two weeks after contracting coronavirus and then return to their daily lives. But for some, like Eli Gabbay, a senior at The Buckley School, the symptoms linger and even worsen. When all was said and done, Gabbay’s symptoms took a year to subside — a phenomenon called Long COVID. 

Friday night, the USC Hotel was draped in finery as it hosted the Long Covid United fundraiser gala. Gabbay founded LCU, a nonprofit dedicated to funding Long COVID clinical research, care and health education by partnering with the Keck School of Medicine of USC, after his battle with the disease, which saw his life upended in multiple ways.

Gabbay never expected his life to be turned upside down by a disease often described by many as a harsh cold or flu. After catching coronavirus at a Halloween party in October of 2022, he found it difficult to concentrate and process information in class. 

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“The [Advanced Placement English Language and Composition] teacher was talking, and it was almost like she was speaking another language,” Gabbay said. “There was a block from what she was saying to my brain.” 

That day, Eli left school early. It would be his last day as a junior in high school. For the next few months, Gabbay suffered from brain fog, exhaustion and post-external malaise. Friends and family who saw him regularly noticed the toll his symptoms were taking on him. Joshua Mahboubi, Gabbay’s cousin and a junior at The Buckley School, said Gabbay was not the same person he usually is.  

“He didn’t have the same light to him,” Mahboubi said. “He would be tired and sad a lot of the time, because when you’re in that situation where you can’t really think and you don’t know what your diagnosis is, then that’s a dark place you’re in.”

Finally, in late December, after numerous brain scans, blood tests and visits to countless doctors, Gabbay was diagnosed with Long COVID by Dr. Paryus Patel, a Los Angeles-based specialist in pulmonary medicine, nephrology and internal medicine.

“It was a relief, in the sense that I felt validated for the first time,” Gabbay said. “At school, I think some people thought I was on vacation, and I couldn’t really explain what was wrong with me, and it was frustrating because I just didn’t know.”

After his diagnosis, starting January 2023, Gabbay was on a six-month-long supplement plan that forbade him from consuming gluten, dairy and sugar. During his recovery period, Gabbay tried everything from sudoku puzzles to using a sauna to speed up his recuperation. Throughout the entire process, he strove to maintain his optimism. By June 2023, he and his parents noticed significant improvements. 

“There were nights where I would just break down,” Gabbay said. “I’d be in my parents’ room, crying, but they always supported me. And thankfully, those nights didn’t linger too long. The whole time, I tried not to have the victim mindset. I mean, there [are] people going through what I’m [going through] who have to provide for children, their husband, their wife, and I’m fortunate enough to have such a great support system.” 

Today, after having visited more than 20 different doctors, Gabbay is fully recovered and has utilized his experience with Long COVID as a driving force for change. Many showed their support for the LCU gala through donations of items to be auctioned off. For instance, Martha Stewart donated a set of kitchen cookware and sent a message of encouragement for Long Covid United.

Gabbay plans to donate the raised funds for Long Covid United to fund research and eventually find a cure. Patel highlighted the importance of an organization such as Long COVID due to research surrounding the chronic condition being “underfunded” and “chaotic” as people have moved on and forgotten about the disease.

“[Eli] is back to his usual self,” Patel said. “He’s one of the few lucky ones that whatever I did worked. There are a few that are still going on, that are past two, three and four years, that are still recovering … I think there should be more awareness and [education] because it has affected a younger population that’s going to be the workforce in the near future. We need to protect them.”

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include a quote from Dr. Patel that was present in the print edition, but erroneously omitted from the online version. The article was updated Sept. 23 at 3 p.m. to reflect this change.