Heidi Ferrer's Husband Shares Details of the Late Dawson's Creek Writer's Struggle with Long-Haul COVID

Heidi Ferrer/instagram Heidi Ferrer

Heidi Ferrer's husband is sharing details of his late wife's experience with COVID-19.

In an interview with CNN published Wednesday, the Dawson's Creek writer's husband, filmmaker Nick Guthe, opened up about what she endured before her death.

Ferrer died by suicide in May, and struggled with COVID-19 for more than a year leading up to her death.

Guthe said that Ferrer suffered from long-haul COVID symptoms that included "excruciating, unexplained" pain in her feet, digestive problems, body aches and a racing heart. She also started to experience neurological tremors this spring, he told CNN.

Guthe described a harrowing journey before his wife was finally referred to a long-haul COVID clinic, which arrived just one day before her death.

RELATED: Dawson's Creek Writer Heidi Ferrer Dies by Suicide After Year-Long COVID Battle

Heidi Ferrer/instagram Heidi Ferrer

Ferrer wrote on her blog last September that she had told Guthe that she did "not want to live like this" if her symptoms persisted.

"I wasn't suicidal, I just couldn't see any quality of life long term and there was no end in sight," she wrote at the time.

"She had indicated that if things got really bad she didn't know how she could continue," Guthe told CNN on Wednesday. "She didn't know how she could keep going, and I just kept saying, you know, 'Just hang on, you know, hang on, medical science is moving at the quickest rate it ever has."

He continued, "But I think she just felt that she was only going to diminish, she was going to lose the ability to walk, end up in a wheelchair, not be able to bathe herself."

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Researchers are still learning more about COVID "long-haulers," but a study released in March found that women were more likely to experience long-term symptoms after being diagnosed with the virus, PEOPLE previously reported.

Guthe urged others to take long-haul COVID symptoms seriously, and called on the "government to step in now and fund research right away and provide mental health support services for people like her."

"We need to pay attention, and it's not just about suicide," he said. "It's about people re-entering the workforce. This is an economic issue. We have trained people... who are not going to be able to go back to their jobs because they are exhausted, they are bedridden."

Bryan Bedder/Getty Nick Guthe, Heidi Ferrer

RELATED: Significant Amount of 'Long-Haul' COVID Sufferers Had Mild Symptoms During Initial Infection

Guthe announced his wife's death on Twitter May 26, writing, "My beautiful angel, Heidi, passed over tonight after a 13 month battle with Long Haul Covid."

"She was an amazing mother," he continued. "She fought this insidious disease with the same ferocity she lived with. I love you forever and I'll see you down the road."

Ferrer is survived by Guthe and their 13-year-old son Bexon.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

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