Coronavirus patient fears ‘not returning to normal’

One woman has said that she worries that she will “never go back to being my normal self” months after contracting the coronavirus.

Jade Townsend, 22, was active and outgoing before spending just one night in the hospital after contracting Covid-19.

But he said he can no longer work and suffers from chronic fatigue, fever, nausea and a fluctuating rapid heart rate.

Researchers studying the long-term effects of the virus said they hoped to prevent a “cycle of disease where symptoms continue.”

Many coronavirus patients have reported debilitating symptoms that continue for months after becoming ill, which can include shortness of breath, chronic fatigue, and mental confusion.

Dr Rachael Evans from the University of Leicester has worked on UK-wide research on the long-term effects of Covid-19 for patients admitted to hospital.

“I have been a qualified physician in the NHS for 23 years and I have not seen anything like it in respiratory medicine,” he said.

“At the moment it is so unknown … we are still at a point where we are learning what the sequels are.”

Dr Evans said that understanding “long Covid” should ease future stresses on healthcare services and society at large.

“If people are left to confront themselves, it can often turn into a real disease cycle in which symptoms continue,” he added.

Five weeks after contracting the disease in mid-March, Ms Townsend, from Witney in Oxfordshire, was taken to the hospital with a high fever and shortness of breath.

Five months later, she had to quit her daycare job and said she “can’t imagine” resuming her social life.

“Now I almost need more sleep than wakefulness,” said Ms. Townsend.

“I am concerned, at 22 years old I will be stuck with some of these symptoms and will never be able to return to my normal state.”

Dr. Evans’ study aims to recruit 10,000 people to assess their physical function and mental health, and also take samples to analyze their genes and immune system.