Thread by @MetroUK

The 'Forgotten Victims' of the Pandemic 🦠️

This exclusive by @HarrisonJones7 outlines the debilitating health problems experienced by long-term sufferers, two years after catching the virus.

🧵👇
trib.al/p93WVsx

Three patients, who believe they caught Covid-19 over the festive period in 2019, have spoken exclusively to Metro about their 24 months of misery.

But one hopes that her story of recovery – to about 70% of her ‘old self’ – can help other UK sufferers, who number an estimated 1.2 million, according to self-reported stats from the Office for National Statistics in December.

The MP leading an inquiry into coronavirus has branded them the ‘forgotten victims’ of the pandemic.

Nic Mitchell, 54, said six months ago that she felt like she had aged 20 years, after first getting coronavirus symptoms on Christmas Day 2019.

The media marketing consultant has battled a host of horrifying health problems, loneliness and misdiagnosis since staying at a Gatwick Airport hotel overnight on December 22, when she believes she came into contact with passengers from Wuhan.

By the 25th, she was unable to taste her Christmas lunch in St Lucia and went on to face countless debilitating symptoms, including organ damage, stroke and memory and hearing loss.

The infection came before testing was widely available in the UK...

...with Long Covid not being recognised until months after.

Former BBC journalist Nic says the infection initially felt ‘like a fire-breathing dragon was inside me’ as she faced swollen, discoloured joints and struggled to open her eyes because of light sensitivity.

After 18 months with Long Covid, she was delighted to take her own dogs around their local park for the first time since getting ill.

Having lost her job and partner, by December she was thankful for getting more mobility and independence back.

But she told Metro: ‘I still cry every week because I’m not really living, just surviving. I am disabled, possibly for life, but like millions of others totally forgotten, like a casualty of war.'

‘Simple pleasures in life like enjoying a meal, smelling bread, taking a nice country walk with my dogs or just being able to jump in the car and go to a shop or café are all still impossible.’

She can now walk much better than in July and her shortness of breath has eased.

But Nic’s fatigue has worsened and she now sleeps so deeply that doorbells and phone calls are missed, while her depression, anxiety and emotional breakdowns have all increased.

She hit out at Government support, branding the current help available ‘worse than ever’, despite ministers’ promises.

‘Clinics have been closed, GPs are unable to do face to face meetings & only virtual Long Covid support is on offer for a lucky few.'

She added that help with mental health is severely lacking...

...And she claims death by suicide are ‘far too common’ among sufferers.

Many Long Covid victims recover fully over varying periods, but others are less lucky.

Helen Oakleigh says she is ‘still very poorly’ and that ‘health wise’ six months ago ‘feels like last week’.

Since speaking to Metro in July, she is now hopeful that a drug called apheresis, which is being trialled in Germany, can help her recover.

Helen is on a German waiting list for the treatment, but adds: ‘I simply do not know if I would be well enough to travel, even with significant help.’

A month after infection, Helen had the beginnings of Long Covid but suffered a ‘huge relapse’ in August...

...which has left her heavily disabled and saw her hair fall out.

She previously played team sports several times a week, trained, worked out and ‘cycled everywhere’ but now says she faces daily pain, tremor and wheelchair use.

The actor, writer and director, in her 30s, feels ‘lucky to be alive’ after suspected heart attacks, paralysis, temporary blindness, loss of speech and being bed-bound for months at a time.

‘Two years is long enough to wait – we need to try actual treatments now’, Helen said.

The founder of the Long Covid support group agreed there is an ‘ever more urgent need’ to find a cure for the ongoing health condition.

Claire Hastie said: ‘Long Covid (needs) to be a core consideration for policymakers in order to prevent more cases.'

‘People are continuing to lose their jobs and missing out on education, and the advocacy work of patient organisations such as Long Covid Support and Long Covid Kids is vital to help those struggling to access support.’

Yet another sufferer, who Metro is speaking to for the first time, believes there is hope and help available for other sufferers.

Kirsty Stanley, a self-employed occupational therapist, believes she was infected just after Christmas 2019.

Now she is urging those trying to get better to work ‘within their energy levels’.

Kirsty, who believes her ADHD may have played a part in the severity of her symptoms, faced coughing, shortness of breath, fast heart rate, fatigue, brain fog, tinnitus and joint pain.

‘I am not convinced I will make a full recovery until they have done new research,’ she explains, adding that she thinks she would still meet the criteria for ME or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Layla Moran, the MP chairing the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, said:

'Those living with Long Covid remain the forgotten victims of this pandemic.'

‘Ministers need to also recognise Long Covid as an occupational disease, provide formal guidance to employers on the issue and create a compensation scheme for key workers unable to return to work.'

The Department of Health told said that it is committed to supporting Long Covid sufferers and ‘ensuring services are available to everyone who needs them’.

‘We’ve opened 90 Long Covid assessment centres for people across England,' a spokesperson said.

They continued: ‘We are also providing more than £50 million for research to better understand the long term effects of the condition and develop the right treatments for patients.’

For the full story 👇
trib.al/p93WVsx