The taste and smell of baking brownies with her daughter is something Kerri DiCaprio missed out on — until recently.

“It's going on almost three years in November that I would have had no smell or taste," said DiCaprio, who was diagnosed with long COVID.

Long COVID, a chronic condition where the symptoms of COVID-19 continue after the initial infection, has significantly affected DiCaprio's quality of life. 

“I kind of gave up because nothing was working and doctors around here didn't have answers," DiCaprio said. "There wasn't enough information. There wasn't enough testing."

But she regained some hope after seeing a video on social media of a procedure from Chicago Pain Relief, where the doctors paralyzed the nerve above the carotid artery in the neck. 

In July, DiCaprio got the procedure done on both sides of her neck — and it worked. 

“When I smelled for the first time in 2 1/2 years, I instantly started crying," DiCaprio said. "You never realize how much you miss something until it's gone."

According to the New York State Department of Health, there is no test to diagnose long COVID. But two newly published studies could be pointing scientists closer to finding potential biomarkers.

“A biomarker is basically a biological indicator to tell us whether any part of the body or system is functioning at a normal level or abnormal level. It can also tell us whether someone has a disease or not," said Tomoko Udo, the associate dean and professor for research at UAlbany School of Public Health.

A key finding in the first study, which was from researchers at Yale and Mount Sinai, was people with long COVID had lower levels of cortisol in the morning, which can cause symptoms like fatigue. 

The second study, conducted by researchers at Oxford, took MRI scans of people who had been hospitalized with COVID-19 and found evidence of lung, brain or kidney damage in one out of three people.

Udo said long COVID studies are important but it’s just the beginning, and there needs to be more research done. For DiCaprio, even though the procedure she had isn’t permanent, she’s now able to enjoy the taste of baking with her family.  

“Some people just say, ‘OK, well, it's just food.’ Well, it's not just food, it's traditions. It's, you know, celebrating Thanksgiving and celebrating Christmas. All of those meals that my family prepared in those 2 1/2 years was something that I missed out on," DiCaprio said.