A Scots teacher has been left unable to read books after a crippling long covid battle. Melanie More, 28, struggles with a variety of cognitive and physical issues - leaving her 90 per cent housebound.
The former languages teacher is grieving the life she once lived after being forced to give up her dream job due to her declining health. Once an active person who loved travelling and yoga, Mel has had to come to terms with the significant changes in her life since she "became disabled overnight".
She initially tested positive for the disease in September 2020 after a number of colleagues at St. Andrew's RC Secondary School in Carntyne caught the virus. But Mel was the only one who did not make a full recovery.
Speaking to the Record, Mel, who has since moved to Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire, said she initially thought she was losing her mind when her symptoms continued to get worse.
She said: "When I first tested positive I had flu like symptoms but over two weeks I became really unwell. I had a fever, I was sleeping for around 19-hours a day and I could barely walk.
"I wasn't eating and I had really severe GI issues as well as issues with breathing. I just got more and more unwell.
"Everyday I thought I was going mad as I didn't know anyone else this was happening to."
After 12-weeks of suffering with crippling symptoms, Mel attended her GP surgery but with information on long covid vague at the time, her symptoms were put down to fatigue. A lung health check revealed damage from the disease one month later and Mel returned to her doctor as her symptoms showed no signs of improvement.
She was officially diagnosed with long covid and Myalgic encephalomyelitis, also called chronic fatigue syndrome. With research into long covid still ongoing, Mel doesn't know if she will ever recover and is currently on nerve pain medication for a wide range of symptoms.
Husband Magnus, 29, has become her carer while also working full time as a data analyst. Mel is only able to walk very short distances, suffers from chronic pain, extreme fatigue, migraines, brain fog, tremors, GI issues, unregulated temperatures and breathlessness. She cannot feel hunger pangs and needs to be reminded when to eat.
The most terrifying symptoms is complete paralysis if she forces her body to do too much. Mel said: "If I do too much my body shuts down and I get a horrible paralysis. It feels like I'm dying.
"I was a really able bodied person. I loved swimming, walking and yoga. I am massive extrovert so I was always so busy. I loved my work and I loved working with the kids. It was my passion.
"I loved going to London to meet up with my pals and I loved travelling. My life did a full 180. I am grieving my old life and it's not just me, my husband, parents and sister are also grieving it.
"Now I can't read anything longer than an email or do basic math and one of the hardest parts is not being able to read. I even struggle to listen to audio books because my brain can't follow it. I speak three languages but now I struggle to write in French or Spanish. It is heartbreaking."
Mel can only walk short distances unaided and relies on a wheelchair if she needs to leave the house but due to chronic pain in her arms, she is unable to push a standard wheelchair or grip the handlebars on her mobility scooter.
Her health took a further dip in March of this year when she tested positive for covid for a second time and her symptoms worsened. With the help of charity Access Your Life, she was able to start a fundraising page to buy a Wolturnus W5S manual wheelchair, Benoit Light Drive 2.1 Plus (HD) power add-on and Track Wheel all-terrain equipment.
The specially designed wheelchair will allow Mel to live a more normal life, better manage her symptoms while outside and finally go on walks with Magnus and their golden retriever Jura. Within three days she smashed her target and is now looking forward to a better quality of life with the powered chair.
She is desperate to raise awareness of long covid and help people understand the symptoms.
"There is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding covid with people saying it is just like a cold - it's not," Mel said. "I became disabled overnight. I lost everything except my husband. If people experienced it like a cold then they are lucky but for a lot of us that is not the case.
"There is not enough information about long covid out there and I think there needs to be more awareness as well.
"The improvements for me over the past two and a half years have been minimal. All I can do is hope that the research they are doing now will help but until they do, I don't know what my recovery will be like."
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