Another glimpse into the life of someone who has had Covid-19 and is on the mend. This time an email from an old friend of mine who is a teacher who had covid and asked to remain anonymous.

i find that with each new story i am learning not only about the disease and how it seems to work differently in different people, but also about some of the wider issues [What do you do if colleagues are being irresponsible? The process of connecting with all the people you have been in contact with who might now need to be tested. How does it affect family and extended family life? And more…]

Let’s hear from ‘Eve’:

Dear Brett

I’ve been reading your Covid stories.

I had Covid in June. I am not 100 percent sure where I contracted it. Possibly from a colleague at school. Fortunately we as a family had been very careful and were not seeing people so, except for occasional shopping, we had not had contact with anyone. My symptoms also started in the school holidays so I was not infectious when I  was teaching.

I was able to stay at home. My oxygen did dip rather low and the inability to catch a breath was scary.

My husband tested negative. My teenagers were not tested, but in hindsight, my son definitely had the blue Covid toes which teenagers apparently get.

The hardest thing was watching my children watch me struggle. 

I have only now, 6 months later,  been feeling fairly normal again. I have managed to hike 10 kilometers on an easy trail.

Feels like a win, even though I was running before I got sick but I’m definitely not ready to do that yet. For me, there is constant fatigue and joint pain.  I still can’t catch a big, deep breath.

Covid is scary. The long term effects on your body are scary. From being fit to spending 3 weeks in bed, incapacitated, is humbling.

I was careful. My job involves daily close contact with many people. I still got sick. 

Teachers and covid

My plea is that people take the necessary precautions. Especially to protect teachers. We are vulnerable. I had parents who were positive with Covid send their children to school because they needed a babysitter. The anger that raises.  Lots of teachers do not feel safe because of people’s inability to love others by following some minor, if inconvenient, rules. I can’t imagine how health care workers feel.

So grateful to be nearly healthy again. 

Thank you so much for sharing, Eve. i can’t imagine what the pressure must be like for teachers who have to hope that every family sending their child to school is being safe and doing everything they can not to catch or spread the disease. And then you have parents who knowingly have it and are sending their kids because they need a break. And as a teacher who has experienced covid, what is needed to get you back into a classroom and risk it all again.

As parents reading this, hopefully you will understand the extra level of responsibility you have when making decisions about sending your children back to school in terms of protecting their teacher from covid as much as is possible.

We have to do and be better and hopefully these stories are helping us to deepen our empathy and grow our compassion. Keep sharing them with your people and inviting them to engage and if you have a story of your own experience you would like to share then please contact me.

To read the story of Nicola who has had Covid-19 TWICE and continues to struggle with after effects, click here.

In the meantime, you can catch up on the other stories that have been shared so far by clicking here.