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 to explain what patients are feeling, how COVID may disrupt the gut and immune system, and why symptoms that are often dismissed as stress or anxiety may have a deeper biological explanation.

This conversation also explores IBS, MCAS, motility issues, microscopic colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, GLP-1 medications, probiotics, prebiotics, and why asking “why did this happen?” may be one of the most important questions in medicine.

Learn more about the Microvascular Research Foundation and how you can help at https://mvresearch.org/

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 debilitating crashes that have completely changed my day-to-day life.

After months of testing, treatments, and trying to piece things together with my medical team, we finally have some answers—but they come with new challenges. I’m now facing significant vascular complications and heading to Denver for a procedure that I hope will put me back on the path to healing.

This episode is about transparency, resilience, and the reality of living with long COVID. I’ll also be documenting this next phase of my journey—sharing what I learn, what helps, and what recovery really looks like.

Thank you for being here, for your support, and for walking this journey with me. More updates soon.

Learn more about the Microvascular Research Foundation and how you can help at https://mvresearch.org/

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 conversation for patients and providers looking beyond the standard model of care.

Learn more about the Microvascular Research Foundation and how you can help at https://mvresearch.org/

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 or looking for practical nutrition guidance, this episode offers a helpful starting point.

Learn more about the Microvascular Research Foundation and how you can help at https://mvresearch.org/

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 Summer, Mitch and Michelle share the heartbreaking decline, the medical dismissal, and the treatment that finally helped him get his life back.

Learn more about the Microvascular Research Foundation and how you can help at https://mvresearch.org/

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 medical blind spots, innovative care, and the doctors working to connect the dots for patients who have been told nothing is wrong.

Learn more about the Microvascular Research Foundation and how you can help at https://mvresearch.org/

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, and medical dismissal she faced, what it was like to know something was deeply wrong while being told everything looked normal, and how getting the right answers changed the course of her journey. This is a powerful conversation about Long COVID, lung damage, persistence, and why patients need doctors who will truly listen.
Learn more about the Microvascular Research Foundation and how you can help at https://mvresearch.org

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 testing and care finally helped her begin getting her life back.

Olivia’s story is a powerful look at Long COVID, medical dismissal, microclotting, recovery, and why patients need doctors who will truly listen.