Christine Maughan

Long Covid Advocate. Utah COVID Long Haulers.

[Fidji Simo @fidjissimo]

Today, I shared with the OpenAI team that I have decided to leave my full-time role at OpenAI and transition to being a part-time advisor.

Three months ago, I had to go on medical leave after a severe exacerbation of a chronic illness I’ve lived with for seven years. During that time, it became clear that the road to recovery would be much longer and more complex than I had anticipated—and that I needed to focus on it fully.

When I went on leave, many people told me I was courageous for prioritizing my health. The truth is that I am only making this decision now because I failed to make it many times before.

Over the years, doctors, friends, colleagues, and loved ones encouraged me to slow down. Two years after I got sick, Facebook offered me the opportunity to take a full year of medical leave. I didn’t even pause to consider it. I immediately said no. At the time, Zuck told me I should play the long game. I wish I had listened.

Looking back, I realize that a lot of what made me successful also made this decision incredibly difficult.

I grew up believing that opportunities were precious and that when they appeared, you grabbed them with both hands. That mindset carried me from a small town in southern France to opportunities I never could have imagined. By the time I turned 40, I had already gotten to do more than I’d ever dreamed possible as a kid growing up in Sète.

I love building. My work has always given me a deep sense of purpose. OpenAI in particular felt like a role that my entire career had been building toward, which made this decision even harder.

But what I’m learning now is that grit and endurance are not the only skills required to have impact over decades. Sometimes the harder thing is to stop, listen, and trust that taking care of yourself today makes it possible to contribute for much longer tomorrow.

This experience has also strengthened my conviction about why this work matters.

It has been a jarring experience to spend my days helping build the future while simultaneously navigating a disabling disease that still has no cure.

Over the last seven years, I’ve spent countless hours in doctors’ offices, dealing with symptoms, treatments, insurance, uncertainty, and all the invisible work that comes with being a patient. Like millions of others living with chronic illness, I’ve experienced firsthand how difficult healthcare can be to navigate, even when you have every possible advantage.

More than ever, I believe that some of the most important opportunities for AI lie in helping people solve real problems in their daily lives: their health, their finances, their time and the everyday burdens that shape human experience.

In particular, curing disease is the most important thing AI could accomplish. I’m excited to continue working towards cures through OpenAI but also through my work with @ChronicleBioAI and @CODA_research.

I’m deeply grateful to @sama, @gdb and the OpenAI board for their support during this time and for offering a way for me to continue contributing to the mission without sacrificing my chances of recovery. I’m also so thankful to my team and the many extraordinary colleagues I’ve had the privilege to build alongside.

For now, my focus is recovery. But my belief in the potential of technology to solve deeply human problems has never been stronger.

[Billy Hanlon @bhanlon15]

Salt Lake Tribune: "Voices: My daughter showed me a drawing. It changed how I see autism."

'A handful of overlapping chronic illnesses (ME/CFS, POTS, fibromyalgia and MCAS) keep me horizontal most of the day...'

By Mark Wright

https://t.co/KV93O33HOG

[Long COVID Campaign @LCCampaign]

🇺🇸U.S. Action Item: #pwLC #POTS #pwME #NEISVoid we need your help! Will you contact your Senators & ask them to sign on to the FY27 Senate “Dear Colleague” Letter for over $210 million to #FundLongCOVID in 2027 Appropriations using our EASY low-spoons call/email tool?🧵

[PhillyPhile215 @PhillyPhile215]

#pwLC #pwME #NEISVoid @LCCampaign founder @meighanstone needs our help! She’s had a recent housing emergency/mold exposure—causing unforeseen expenses/health issues. More info here.👇Please help if you can and share with anyone you know who can assist. https://t.co/lUtgN4uyFi

[Emma Smith @3mm4sm1th]

My latest: Long COVID clinics are quietly closing, leaving thousands of patients without specialized care. Read more via @Scienceline
https://t.co/iYMkH1hm5N

A huge thank you to all the people living with Long COVID who shared their stories, to the healthcare providers who offered their insights, and to the advocates dedicated to raising awareness, funding, and education for this disease.

[Julia MV @julialmv]

The Long COVID Treatment Trial – Tirzepatide (LoCITT-T) is officially open for enrollment for people with Long COVID in:
Alabama, Alaska, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah
https://t.co/K7yjhCfV3N

1/16

[Deseret News @Deseret]

🔗: https://t.co/IVDb3OWg1d

The Invisible Disability

Children living with long COVID often struggle to explain how they feel. Families have turned to art as a way for kids to share their experiences — from drawings that show isolation to images of helplessness.

These stories highlight the silent toll of long COVID and the urgent need for pediatric research.

🎥: Burgess Coffield, Deseret News

[Lois M. Collins @Loisco]

How vulnerable are kids to long COVID? https://t.co/Ngc9P4nTUz @LexieYontsMD

[Daniel Park @Daniel_E_Park]

Harvard economist David Cutler estimates the total cost of long COVID at $3.7 TRILLION:

-$2.2T: lost quality of life
- $1.0T: lost earnings
- $528B: added medical costs

That’s 17% of U.S. GDP, or roughly the cost of the Great Recession.
https://t.co/rXQhRvmjrG

[Daniel Park @Daniel_E_Park]

Long COVID doesn't just pose threat to personal wellbeing, it impacts families, communities, and the national economy.

Recent estimates show it’s sidelined millions of workers, cost trillions in lost productivity, and is quietly reshaping the U.S. labor market and economy.

[Rachel Gross, MD, MS @RachelGrossMD]

Millions of children are living with #LongCOVID. Their symptoms disrupt memory, energy, mood, and development, keeping them out of school, sidelined from friendships, and left without answers.

Join us for #PediatricLongCOVIDAwareness Week.

https://t.co/HjT9PfrJ1G...

[Billy Hanlon @bhanlon15]

'Long COVID Showed Me the Bottom of American Health Care: Theater of War Productions, Presented by WNYC'

'Please join us on May 28th at 7 PM for the fifth installment of Theater of War Productions’ new long-form journalism series at WNYC .'

https://t.co/c00EqQBFom

[Todd Davenport @sunsopeningband]

The biggest thing that @bmj_latest ME/CFS blog misses is it presupposes people with severe-very severe ME must not have hope or be hopeful, when given their circumstances and out of sheer necessity and will to live, they are among the most hopeful and positive people I know.

[Dysautonomia Intl. @Dysautonomia]

New research finds that women w/ endometriosis are at a 30-80% increased risk of developing autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases, and that genetic risk factors may explain the relationship. Women with POTS are... 🧵1/2 https://t.co/PcgxQS8vJE

[The Sick Times @thesicktimes]

During the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today, Kennedy testified that he is "100% committed to finding treatments for Long COVID."

The Sick Times will continue to follow the story.

[Meighan Stone @meighanstone]

If you also need a #LongCOVID dose of hope, a message from Washington DC. Thanks from @LCCampaign to every patient & advocate who brought our community to the Hill today. Working together across the aisle, @SenatorCollins @PattyMurray opened a door for U.S. patients & families.

[Christine Maughan @ChristineVM3]

@meighanstone @LCCampaign @SenatorCollins @PattyMurray Thank you Meighan for helping to be our voice and for all you do.

[Long COVID Campaign @LCCampaign]

🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨 Huge patient community victory! NIH RECOVER grant terminations being reversed & restored! This win was only possible due to YOUR advocacy & support from our Hill bipartisan champions! THANK YOU to every person who called, emailed & took action! #NoLongCOVIDCuts

[Meighan Stone @meighanstone]

[cont'd] "HHS @SecKennedy & NIH Director @DrJBhattacharya action today on RECOVER research funding will make a powerful difference for the over 17 million Americans with Long COVID, especially pediatric patients.” https://t.co/uiuYBzDaCm 2/x

[Meighan Stone @meighanstone]

More coverage from @cenmag @rowanwalrath, thanks for including @LCCampaign: "Long COVID patients are grateful to bipartisan leaders @SenToddYoung @SenTimKaine @SenBillCassidy @SenSanders for their partnership on preserving these critical NIH grants..." https://t.co/uiuYBzDaCm 1/x