Like most people I spent March and April of this year scared that my loved ones or myself would contract Coronavirus. We saw frightening scenes on the news. Heard stories of people dying on ventilators in hospital and it was generally a frightening time for all of us.

Photo by Adam Nieściorukon Unsplash

As time went on and we began to get used to living in this strange new world I began to become less worried for myself and really I only focused on protecting others from getting it. I focused on my general health, worked out more and walked 10-15k steps a day. I felt in pretty good health. 

Life seemed to become more normal, nights out with friends resumed and the kids returned to school. It seemed we all had all learned to live with this pandemic. Cases dropped, the death rate in my area dropped to 0. I returned to my day job. Then slowly at first and then all of a sudden things changed again. Cases began to rise. We had to wear masks in shops, which although was the norm in most of the UK was all new to us in Wales and once again we were asked to stay away from other households. Pubs introduced curfews and restrictions and I realised that the time to be more careful was here. Not just with protecting others but also myself. I stopped going on nights out. The only sense of normality that remained was the gym but even there each machine was wiped before and after use and I always showered at home. I felt like I was doing all the right things. I still worried that my parents would get the virus so contact with them was minimal, no physical contact and only sat outside their home. I didn’t really worry that the virus would affect me if I got it. I thought naively it would be like a really bad cold.

It was at the beginning of October that one day I just couldn’t warm up. Then the next day I was full of cold. My nose was blocked, I felt kind of achy and tired. I stopped visiting my parents even outside just to be cautious. A few days later I had a cough, not a bad one but enough for me to order a home test. At this point I genuinely thought I was being over cautious then I lost my sense of smell and taste. I did really think this was down to my cold because my nose was so blocked. When my test result came back positive I was surprised but not worried. If anything I thought I’d get it out of the way. After all I was in my 30’s, a three times a week gym goer and I walked 15k steps a day. I had no major underlying health conditions and I was a healthy weight. I was sure this would feel like a nasty cold and then I’d be done, immune for a while at least and able to just get on with life. Unfortunately I was wrong.

I’m now nearly 10 weeks since I first developed symptoms, 9 weeks after my positive Covid result and my recovery is slow. Most days I get breathless at least 4 to 5 times, sometimes more. Sometimes it’s from putting washing in the tumble dryer or walking up the stairs. Sometimes it’s when I am sat watching telly and I haven’t even moved. My chest pain is still there every single day, my temperature still fluctuates throughout the days and nights and the joint pain, in particular my legs can be agonising at times. The overall feeling each day is one of extreme fatigue. Every morning I wake feeling almost hungover, groggy and as if I have really overdone it at the gym. I’ve barely seen anyone other than my two children in all of that time. I am very lucky in that my family and friends have helped with doorstep deliveries and helping with school runs as I’m not sure how I’d have coped otherwise. I have seen my GP five times, had blood tests, ECG’s and a chest x ray. I’ve had two strong doses of antibiotics, an asthma inhaler and am now on neurological pain tablets for the joint pain. I’ve taken more painkillers than I’ve ever taken in my life.

Some days I feel really low because it feels never-ending but I am also extremely grateful that this is as bad as it has been. For so many others the outcome is far worse. My recovery may be slow but I am, I think and hope, recovering slowly day by day.

But the real reason I wrote this post is to tell you that covid is very real. It doesn’t only affect the elderly or already sick. It can affect you or your families in exactly the same way as it has hit me. Yes I didn’t end up in hospital and for that I am thankful but it has had a significant impact on my life and will likely continue to do that for quite some time.

Here are the symptoms that I have experienced due to Covid. Read it carefully, be aware and stay safe:

Initial symptoms, day 1-3

Feeling very cold

Cold like symptoms, blocked nose and sinus pain. Lost some sense of smell but not all.

Aches all over. Similar to flu. Even wearing the softest of clothes hurt my skin.

Days 4-7

The cough began, not continuous but it hurt a lot when I coughed

Sore throat

Skin became more sensitive to the touch

Headaches

Days 7-10

My sense of smell completely went and my taste became impacted too.

My chest had begun to hurt a lot, it felt like I’d been kicked directly in the centre of my chest.

I had a temperature. It varied between 37.8 – 38.9 at its worst, this was whilst taking painkillers regularly.

The aches remained but my leg pain became a lot worse. It affected my sleep and I just felt in pain all day long.

Day 11+

The breathlessness began. This was the scariest of all of the symptoms and is still ongoing. Being unable to breathe properly panics you, I’ll never take it for granted again.

All other symptoms remained and other than the sore throat and cough which thankfully has eased and the temperature which is mostly ok they don’t seem to be going anywhere.

If you are in doubt about any symptoms you may have try and get tested, if you cant get tested at least isolate yourself to protect others. Some people won’t be able to beat this. We all have a responsibility to protect each other.

2020. I can imagine in years to come people sat down talking about difficult times and crazy news and saying yeah this may be bad but hey remember 2020? WOW.

Who’d have thought this year would turn out like this? I don’t know about you but I know that on January 1st this year I had a lot of big plans for this year. I was taking control of lots of areas of my life and I had many things I wanted to do. It seems pretty silly to look back and sort of mourn the year that we have almost lost because in the grand scheme of things myself and my family have been very lucky, we haven’t been personally affected really by the pandemic in terms of anyone being seriously ill. But yeah silly as it may sound it does seem that way, we have lost a significant chunk of time, time where we haven’t been able to be close with loved ones and friends and it almost seems as if some areas of life will never be quite the same. Although life is very slowly getting back to some sort of normality, there are still many things we can’t do and I still cannot hug my parents or have dinner at a friends house. I can’t curl up and watch a tv programme with a cup of tea on my parents sofa. Can’t eat inside a restaurant ( at least here in Wales), haven’t been clothes shopping since February, haven’t had a haircut in even longer. In fact for someone who travels so much my life has been contained within 4 miles for 5 months. It’s crazy and still sometimes feels almost surreal, anyone else still wake up some mornings and think woah what an absolutely bonkers dream?

I have learned to appreciate the smaller pleasures a lot more. A daily coffee in the garden where I have got to know all of my regular birds and whilst I often begrudge ordering myself a takeaway I don’t think twice about ordering them 150 fat balls.

I have started growing lots more veggies and herbs at home. and it tastes so much better when you know you grew it!

As a huge indulgence at the beginning of the pandemic I ordered a hot tub for the garden, I say huge indulgence when I actually got a pretty decent deal for £199 and whilst that kind of impulsive purchase is very unlike me it has made the experience a whole lot sweeter. I do some form of daily exercise, because I have the time for it. Sometimes I walk 10-15k steps a day, other days its yoga or stretching but something each day and my body is stronger and healthier as a result. I haven’t taken up a new hobby as such or learned a new language or written a book but I have baked A LOT, I have made major life decisions and I’ve started writing just for pleasure again. Not even pieces I want anyone to read but just writing for me, for the pleasure of it and because sometimes my stupid brain just will not switch off at night. I have worked on my friendships more, making sure to maintain contact when we weren’t able to see each other. I speak to my family more and I have tried where I can to make life easier for those around me, in small ways where possible and thats helped me to keep going.

I will admit there have been times, especially when I have been entirely alone at home on rainy days where I have sat down and had a good cry because for someone who actually loves to be alone I have at times been incredibly lonely. For normally being alone is a choice you make, these last few months that has been forced on me occasionally and it is an eye opener. I realised that although I am not someone who needs company all the time that I should seek it out more often and be more social when the opportunity allows it.

I guess this is just a bit of a ramble but I haven’t posted much lately and thought you may enjoy a little of what is going on in my life. I’ve got some exciting stuff to share with you soon I promise.

I’ll end with this, whilst this year has been hard on most of us I am thankful that my friends and family are for the most part happy and healthy. We all have managed to keep our jobs and yes we have seen the effect of this awful virus through members of the family who work for the NHS and through the news but we are all ok. I am thankful for that in more ways than I can say. I hope this time hasn’t been too difficult for you and yours. Feel free to say hey on my social channels, I do like to catch up with you all!