DUBLIN: A woman who was among the earliest Covid cases in the country is still experiencing severe symptoms a year after her diagnosis.
Aoife Moore, 38, a mother of two from East Galway, is among thousands of people across Ireland who are suffering from what is known as “Covid long. ”
Her life has been spent since she first started getting symptoms, before St Patrick’s Day last year. She said: “Make no mistake about it, if you get Covid long, it’s going to affect every aspect of your life.
“It affects every part of you. Your mind, your emotions, your physical, your finances, your relationships. You feel so alone, you feel like no one else gets this. The medical community is not helping, because they do not know themselves. “
Ms Moore is an activist who has worked on a number of initiatives, including for the pro-Choice movement and Direct Supply. She is the manager of author Erin Darcy and a stay-at-home mother of her daughter Aibhlin, five, and her son Diarmuid, three.
“I was the kind of person who is always busy, always doing something, involved in so many different things. Unfortunately I had to give up all of that now, ”she told PA news agency.
Everything changed when she received a good review of Covid last year. “I started to feel really sick. I was very cold and couldn’t keep warm. I couldn’t control my body temperature. The way I describe how your lungs are grafted. It was like I had never been before. ”
While her condition has since improved, Ms Moore is still dealing with a range of symptoms including muscle weakness, severe cough, difficulty climbing, swelling, swelling, sores oral and various aches and pains.
“I always feel like I’ve been hit back and hit. It’s very sad, ”she said. “Obesity is the worst. It’s a whole body thing. Your head is too heavy to lift the pillow. Your arms are heavy so are your legs.
“I would get that in addition to my symptoms. So I had to try to find a balance between doing too much and doing too little. If I did too much, I would be in bed for up to a week if I pushed myself too far. I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed. ”
The whooping cough that came with her first diagnosis did not go away.
She said: “Whooping cough lives with you, it will never go away. The way I describe it is that I feel like I have two knots in my chest, in my lungs. They are always there and sometimes they get worse than never. ”
But one of the biggest influences Covid has had on Ms. Moore’s family life, especially for her husband Kerill. She said: “My husband is effectively my caretaker. He looks after the house. He is a software engineer and works from home.
“He also looks after the children. He is pretty much a single parent in one respect. Because my ability to do things physically has a huge impact.
“I can’t lift the kids out of a situation. I can’t wash them. I can’t do simple things like bring dinner together.
“Every day I have to assess what my energy is like. My energy proves my ability to do nothing. I always have to prioritize and make choices.
“If I decide to go for a shower, that might be my activity for the day. That means I can’t do anything else. ”
Her son Diarmuid was diagnosed with autism last year, and she fears he has recovered from not being able to pay the same level of attention to her as before.
“Mum was there all the time, I was great as a main person. The next thing I get sick, I’m in bed and can’t come to me. I have just disappeared from his world.
“That was very sad. It was such a shame for a while, ”she said.
Professor Danny Altmann, of Imperial College London, said last month that the number of people suffering from Covid-19 symptoms after the diagnosis could be as high as 20 per cent. percent of those who get the virus.
Covid’s long-term clinics have been called for to open across the UK, and Ms Moore is urging the Irish Government to do the same. Covid Cases Ireland has been a source of support for Ms Moore. They now have 1,600 members across the country and have petitioned for stronger support. She said she believes Covid is long due to the virus lying dormant in her body.
