East Surrey resident Sarah Parker has successfully completed a rehabilitation programme with First Community’s Long Covid Team and embraces a ‘new normal’ as she returns to full time work and resumes routine daily activities.
Alongside regular chest infections and an underlying asthma condition, Sarah contracted Covid-19 in November 2020.
After several months of ongoing symptoms, including shortness of breath and severe headaches, Sarah’s GP referred her to First Community’s Long Covid Rehabilitation Team in February 2021, to begin a 21-month programme (with some periods of self-management) to support her recovery.
Sarah began a series of physiotherapy sessions which firstly focused on various exercises to improve her breathing before moving onto physical exercises to progress her mobility, movement and strength.
Alongside physiotherapy, Sarah completed a virtual fatigue management course with First Community which provided lots of useful tools and techniques to support and manage her symptoms.
Delighted with the positive outcomes and progress she’s made during the rehabilitation programme, Sarah said, “When my Covid-19 symptoms first started it felt like the worst flu in the world, like I had bricks on body, and I couldn’t move. All I wanted to do was sleep.
“I couldn’t walk down the stairs without sitting halfway or stand long enough to make food, and as I continued to have trouble breathing, I knew something wasn’t quite right.
“The physiotherapists worked with me at a slow pace and adapted exercises to how I was responding. I learnt lots of breathing techniques and it’s really helped with my asthma too.
“Undertaking a bleep test was a tough challenge for me. It helped to improve my fitness levels and build up strength and I was thrilled to eventually reach level 4, something I never thought I’d achieve when I started the programme.
“I’m continuing to take one day at a time and use all the tools and techniques I’ve learnt during the programme. I still get some symptoms including brain fog when I’m tired and lack of taste and smell, but I can now breathe properly which is such a positive step for me.
“I’m thrilled to feel well enough to be back at work in my busy role as operations manager and I feel I’m almost back to where I was before I had Covid-19. Being able to walk up and down the stairs without having to stop to catch my breath has made such a difference to daily life.
“All of the physiotherapists and occupational therapists who cared for me were amazing and I couldn’t fault them in any way. The support during and after gave me everything I needed, and I can’t thank the team enough.”
You can hear more from Sarah via this video.
First Community’s Long Covid Rehabilitation Service launched in May 2019. It supports east Surrey residents discharged from hospital following a Covid-19 infection who have experienced symptoms for longer than 12 weeks. Patients can be referred to the team by their GP.
The service was set up after it was identified specific treatment was needed for conditions including musculoskeletal problems, fatigue, shortness of breath, severe pulmonary and/or respiratory problems, decrease in mobility, and upper limb weakness post Covid-19 infection. The service provides a team of health care professionals who work together to support these needs and help patients recover at home.
Photo caption: (left) Long Covid patient, Sarah Parker alongside (right) Jennifer Godber, Occupational Therapist First Community Health and Care.