The Long Haul with Summer

What if the gut symptoms many Long COVID patients experience are not just IBS, anxiety, or “functional” problems? In this episode, Dr. Vaughn interviews gastroenterologist Zach Spiritos about the overlooked connection between Long COVID, mast cell activation, gut barrier dysfunction, food reactions, dysautonomia, and chronic GI symptoms. They discuss why traditional scopes and imaging often fail t...

On this deeply personal update, I'm opening up about why I’ve been away—and what’s really been happening behind the scenes. After reaching the best shape of my life, everything took an unexpected turn. What started as metabolic issues quickly spiraled into something much more complex. From new autoimmune concerns to a COVID reinfection, I’ve been dealing with severe fatigue, brain fog, and deb...

When patients are told their labs are “normal” but they still feel sick, where do they turn next? In this episode of The Long Haul with Summer , Summer talks with Dr. Ben Edwards about root-cause medicine, why symptom management often misses the bigger picture, and how issues like inflammation, gut health, mitochondria, and lifestyle can play a major role in healing. This is a thoughtful conversat...

In this episode of The Long Haul with Summer, Summer shares what to eat with Long COVID and how an anti-inflammatory diet may support healing, energy, and overall recovery. She walks through grocery store tips, the mito diet, foods to prioritize, foods to avoid, meal ideas, snack options, and simple ways to lower inflammation through everyday eating. Whether you’re dealing with Long COVID symptoms...

After COVID, Mitch went from running his landscaping business and living an active life to feeling like he was losing his mind. For nearly three years, he battled crushing symptoms, endless doctor visits, normal test results, and the fear that no one believed what he was going through. Eventually, he learned it wasn’t “all in his head” — it was Long COVID. In this episode of The Long Haul with Sum...

In this episode of The Long Haul with Summer, Summer sits down with Dr. Vaughn and cardiologist Dr. Alexis Cutchins to unpack why so many Long COVID patients are still being dismissed. They explore the overlooked links between Long COVID, POTS, MCAS, venous disease, and microclotting—and why listening to patients is often what leads to real answers. This is an eye-opening conversation about medica...

After working as an ER nurse through the COVID pandemic, Rachel Lowry never expected to become the patient herself. In this episode of The Long Haul with Summer, she shares how months of coughing, shortness of breath, crushing fatigue, and worsening symptoms were repeatedly brushed aside—until one chest X-ray finally revealed significant lung scarring. Rachel opens up about the fear, frustration,...

After getting sick and hearing again and again that her tests were “normal,” Olivia was left with no real answers—only worsening symptoms, intense fatigue, chest pain, a racing heart, and months spent bedridden. In this episode of The Long Haul with Summer, she shares how her life changed after COVID, how traditional doctors repeatedly dismissed her symptoms as anxiety, and how finding the right t...

Andrea was a healthy, active mom, nurse, and school worker when everything suddenly changed. What started as strange arrhythmias and exhaustion turned into crushing fatigue, dizziness, swelling, brain fog, and episodes so severe she could barely make it through a grocery store without help. After months of ER visits, cardiology workups, normal tests, and being told to just live with it, Andrea fin...

Starting Long COVID treatment can feel overwhelming—especially when your first visit comes with a busy day of testing, labs, education, and a brand-new plan to follow. In this solo episode of The Long Haul with Summer, Summer walks through what that first appointment typically looks like, how the care team builds a personalized roadmap, and why it’s common to feel a little worse before you feel be...

Ernie went from averaging 30,000 steps a day to being nearly bedridden after 2021—failing lung tests even with an inhaler, battling crushing brain fog, constant shaking, and being told by doctor after doctor that nothing was wrong. After four years of searching for answers, one appointment changed everything. In this episode of The Long Haul with Summer, Ernie shares how he finally found a care te...

COVID isn’t just a lung disease—and under the microscope, the blood reveals a very different story. In this episode of The Long Haul with Summer, Summer sits down with world-renowned physiologist Dr. Resia Pretorius to discuss what her team discovered: extreme platelet hyperactivation, vascular damage, and amyloid-like clotting structures often referred to as “microclots.” They unpack why many Lon...

35 Doctors. 3 Children's Hospitals. One "Medical Jailbreak." Kyle Cooper was a nationally ranked triathlete until he was found collapsed on his bedroom floor. He explains how severe sensory overstimulation forced him into a "blackout room," wearing noise-canceling headphones just to survive the day. For years, every specialist called his symptoms "preposterous" or...

Discover how one medical practice is transforming patient care by building a pharmacy right inside their clinic. Pharmacist Scherry shares her journey working with an integrated healthcare team, providing same-day prescriptions, compounded medications, and expert guidance on supplements and off-label therapies. From streamlining care to supporting patients through the pandemic, see how this unique...

For years, Grace Gilliver knew something was wrong — but doctors kept dismissing her concerns. Her symptoms worsened, answers never came, and she was left searching for help on her own. In this episode of The Long Haul with Summer, she shares her journey through chronic illness, long COVID, and the moment everything changed when one doctor finally listened. Learn more about the Microvascular Resea...

For years, Deb Moyer’s seizures, paralysis, and debilitating symptoms were dismissed by doctors as “all in her head.” Labeled psychiatric and accused of faking her illness, she faced a life-threatening reality that went unrecognized. When she finally found a care team willing to investigate the true cause — blood clots and severe microvascular issues — they told her she should have been dead. Thro...

When Laura's husband was hospitalized with COVID, she knew something wasn't right. The treatments weren't helping, he was getting worse, and she made the bold decision to take him home. In this episode of The Long Haul with Summer, Laura shares the challenges they faced, how they found care outside the traditional system, and why she believes her actions saved his life. She also reflec...

Jodi Cherry was a high-level tech executive leading 400 people when her life changed in a single second. While on a routine Zoom call, half of her body went numb. It was the start of a terrifying medical mystery where her "blood felt like it was boiling" and her high-powered career was stripped away. In this episode of The Long Haul with Summer, Jody shares her raw journey through the &q...

Eddie Balter joins Summer to share his grueling two-and-a-half-year struggle with debilitating symptoms following a COVID-19 vaccine, a journey marked by medical gaslighting where specialists repeatedly dismissed his pain as "coincidental" or unrelated. Eddie finally found hope and validation through doctors who discovered he was suffering from advanced micro clots and significant venous...

In this special holiday episode, Summer shifts from interviewing other survivors to sharing her own personal favorite things that have aided her ongoing road to recovery. Join Summer to discover integrative healing methods, with a practical toolkit for managing physical symptoms, and learn to address the cognitive and emotional toll of the illness, with mental health strategies. You will not want...

When traditional medicine couldn't explain why her children were sick, Jenn Devilleneuve took matters into her own hands—launching a journey that would change her family's health and her entire career. In this episode, Jenn and Summer have an honest conversation about advocating for your health, navigating dismissal in the medical system, and discovering functional medicine as a powerful t...

In this episode of The Long Haul with Summer, we sit down with Mendel Fishman—entrepreneur, researcher, and long COVID patient—who is pioneering new diagnostic tools to transform how long COVID is identified and managed. Mendel shares his personal journey, the challenges of launching a biotech startup, and how innovative assays could help clinicians diagnose patients faster, more accurately, and w...

What happens when two misunderstood chronic illnesses collide? Today, Summer sits down with Lyme expert and nurse practitioner Carrye Hodges, who shares her powerful story of being dismissed by doctors for years before finally receiving a Lyme diagnosis. Together, they break down the striking similarities between Lyme disease and Long COVID, why standard testing so often fails patients, and how tr...

On The Long Haul with Summer, we dive into real stories from real people navigating life after long COVID. In this episode, Summer sits down with Juli Carr and her daughter Sara, who open up about what happens when long COVID affects not just one person—but an entire family. From sudden fatigue and brain fog to the emotional toll of watching loved ones decline, their story reveals the fear, confus...

An on-air journalist who loved working out, especially running, was left crawling on the floor in 2020. She was gaslit by multiple doctors until a Facebook post led her to Dr. Jordan Vaughn in Alabama. Triple blood thinner therapy helped her kickstart the healing process, but it was when Dr. Vaughn connected her with Dr. Brooke Spencer in Colorado where she started to find true recovery. In this e...