This article is part of TIME on the weekendissue 14/2024.

On good days, Mia Diekow says, she can get around outside her house in an electric wheelchair. Too often, however, she already knows in the morning: “Today nothing is possible except lying down, eating and going to the toilet,” says the 37-year-old. “I lie in bed with a resting heart rate of up to 130 and can hardly move because I am completely weak.” The condition is called post-exertional malaise. “I then have severe muscle pain and am unable to sleep. It’s pure torture.” Her first infection was four years ago. Diekow knows that Coronavirus Experts from the Charité have confirmed that something in her body has been permanently damaged. But other patients with similar symptoms always have to face the suspicion that their illness is psychosomatic.