Despite being in 4 months’ total isolation because of having pulmonary fibrosis, I caught COVID-19 from a delivery driver.
Initially the first problem I had was to get my prescription. I live alone but always had medication delivered by a pharmacy. However, it didn’t arrive, and no one would answer the phone. I remember lying on my front room carpet with the phone in my hand crying in despair at not being able to get my medicine. I then remembered a flyer that I had fortunately kept, which offered help to anyone in Coleshill who was in need. I found it and rang the number. It was answered and I burst into tears, told them what had happened, and they sorted it all out, went to the Pharmacy, and my medication was brought to me.
I was initially diagnosed, as suffering from influenza, even though I had lost my senses of taste and smell. I have lung fibrosis as an underlying condition and was advised to contact the Surgery again if I deteriorated.
I didn’t improve and I was fortunate to have a telephone appointment with a new Doctor at the Surgery. He was my saviour. There were not any tests available at that time even for GPs, but I had a home visit follow up, telephone consultations, and calls from the Surgery to see how I was getting on. This was such a help, and I can’t thank them enough for going that ‘extra mile’ in looking after me.
I chose the name ‘Angels of Coleshill’ for Wendy and Lloyd who have looked after me in my long recovery. Nothing was too much trouble for them. My daughter lives a long way away, and she obeyed the rules of not visiting me, which she longed to do, and she said that she didn’t know how as a family we would have coped without these angels. The good thing as well is that this kind of volunteering is continuing in Coleshill.
The way I can best describe having COVID-19 is that my chest was wrapped very tightly with clingfilm, and every day it was being pulled tighter and tighter making it more and more difficult to breathe. I was able to be looked after at home, but I wouldn’t have agreed to go to hospital anyway. I wanted hospital beds and ventilators to be for young people.
My recovery 7 months later is still in its early stages. Before COVID, I suffered with fatigue trying to breathe properly, but post COVID I feel the fatigue has, at times, been almost impossible to bear. It only takes me 2 hours to get up now instead of 3 hours, and I am learning how to pace myself. The post COVID tears and sadness are something I was not prepared for. After completing a course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy via telephone I feel so much better. I still get very emotional over things that I wouldn’t have done before COVID, but I know how to cope with it now. I feel that this course should be part of all secondary education as it teaches you how to keep yourself mentally well.
Going out to shop for myself when I was advised to, was a huge step for me to take, but I did It! I didn’t buy much as everywhere seemed very loud and rather frightening, but it was worth the enveloping exhaustion over the next few days.
I get rather cross when I hear people say that they are not going to be vaccinated, and that COVID isn’t as bad as the media make out. It really can be as bad as the media and the medical profession make out, and it’s just not worth the risk-taking chances, not obeying the rules and not being vaccinated.
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Support services
- COVID-19 Community Led Support Groups Directory has been produced to provide useful information about local organisations, groups and agencies that are providing activities, advice, and services to support people during the pandemic.