A Co Down man is trying to get back to his old self after being diagnosed with long covid early last year.
John Cairns, 43, from Comber, first developed mild cold-like symptoms in January 2021 and after he began coughing, he did a PCR test which came back positive.
On the same day, his 12-year-old son Robbie was rushed to hospital with suspected meningitis but tested positive for coronavirus too.
While Robbie began to recover over the next few days, John's symptoms progressively got worse and worse, to the stage where he was at A&E three times in the space of two months with breathing issues.
In April 2021, a doctor at a private hospital told him he had long covid. This condition is defined as effects of coronavirus that continue for weeks or months beyond the initial illness, with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence defining long covid as lasting for more than 12 weeks.
There are an estimated 20,000 people in Northern Ireland suffering with the illness.
Speaking to Belfast Live, John said the condition means he now has a "completely different life" as he has went from working 50 hour weeks to not being able to do more than one or two tasks a day.
He said: "You look on Facebook at other people going out now that restrictions are easing, and you think 'that's what I used to do.' I would have a long, hard week with work then come home and Saturday and Sunday would be going for a long walk, taking the kids to the beach, going for picnics. I was always doing something, working 40-50 hours a week, I just never stopped.
"I played golf once every two weeks with my oldest son or friends, and now I can't do that. I can't do anything to be honest, it's completely life changing. When you wake up in the morning you don't know what your symptoms are going to be.
"Previously I would've done a couple of things in the morning, then went on to doing other things. But now I would only be able to do one or two things a day.
"I can't believe it's been a year, it feels like it's been a lot longer. It's horrendous. "
John's symptoms initially started off mild but he soon began to develop further symptoms he hasn't been able to shake.
He said: "With Omicron, reports keep coming out to say it's mild. My initial symptoms were mild, it was a joke about saying it was like a man flu. I didn't have the three symptoms that they say to get a test until probably four or five days later. I got a test then when I had a cough but the symptoms just gradually got worse.
"My son didn't feel well on the day I got tested. He had a really high temperature and was rushed into A&E with suspected meningitis, my wife had to take him in as I was isolating.
"He was put on a drip and they were really worried, and he tested positive that night. So on the Sunday we were both isolating, and by the Thursday he was coming around and starting to be the Robbie that we know and love. Whereas I was slowly getting worse and worse."
More than 200 symptoms have been linked to the illness, but some of the main symptoms are extreme fatigue, breathlessness, brain fog – neurological and memory loss, heart problems and severe headaches.
The father of three added: "Then there's the feeling of isolation and total frustration too
"People tell you it's new when it's almost two years later. There's a real sense of you going it alone. If I didn't have my wife Judith and the kids, and a few people who check in on me like my mum who texts every day, if I was going through this alone it would be even more of a struggle."
Now, John is campaigning for further research to be done into long covid as a way to improve treatments for those suffering from the illness. In particular, he's calling for further research into the potential relationship between microclots and long covid.
He added: "If we could get some research done, to even give people a bit of hope, that would be great. Even if it helps some people it's worth it."
You can find out more about John's petition by clicking here.
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