Caroline
Halford is the Head of School Aged Immunisation Service working at
Gloucestershire Health & Care NHS Foundation Trust and is a member of the
Health&Hustle since 2018. Caroline
has put together and would like to share her phenomenal journey through
contracting covid, right through to her rehabilitation to recover and get
active. At the time of writing the
article Caroline was one of the 443 who has been discharged from
Gloucestershire Royal Hospital following a 6 day length of stay.
Easter
Sunday should have seen me working at Edward Jenner Court testing front line workers, for Covid-19, having been redeployed from my substantive role as Head
of School Aged Immunisation Service. Instead
I found myself being tested having developed a high temperature and cough
overnight. 48 hours later it was confirmed that I had tested positive to
Corona virus. From the moment I started
my Covid journey the care I have received from the NHS has been nothing but
exceptional and outstanding.
Five days
after being tested, the cough I was experiencing was really difficult to
manage. I suffer from fibromyalgia and most winters I get a cough and a
short course of steroids is usually required. Thinking this was what I needed
for my covid cough; I rang the GP to discuss and there began the 2nd phase
of my covid journey and the phase that has had the biggest impact on my
emotional well-being throughout the period. Following
an initial telephone consultation, my GP sent me a link for a video
consultation. Concerned that I appeared short of breath I was referred to
Rosebank Surgery the ‘covid practice’ for a physical assessment. At an agreed time I was seen and as a result
of poor oxygen saturations 86% on exertion (walking around a small part of the
GP car park) I was referred directly to red pod at the Gloucestershire
Royal hospital.
Being
dropped off outside A&E and walking in alone was one of the lowest points
of my Covid journey. In my head I just needed some steroids and at no point had
I considered I would end up being admitted.
From the moment I walked through the doors of GRH, the staff became my new
family seeing me through some really low points and supporting me out of the
doors after my 6 night stay. It is hard to express the feelings I
experienced during my time in hospital. The hardest thing was not being able to
have visitors and hence I say ‘the staff becomes your family ‘making you laugh
when things aren't so great and passing you a tissue when the tears were
flowing, when it all became a little too much.
At the point of discharge I was exhausted, could not talk longer than 10
minutes without the need for a sleep and could just about manage to climb the
stairs once a day. For the
first fortnight post discharge the thought of getting back to how I am normally
seemed impossible. I also knew that that my recovery would be both a physical
and emotional one.
I joined
the Health&Hustle back in December 2018, investing in a Fitbit flex wristband and
downloading the app on my phone to help keep me active at work and at home. I
normally take part in the weekly and monthly team challenges, which has
helped me to become more active over the past 18 months. Over the
past 6 weeks I have used my Fitbit to support my 3rd phase of my journey to
recovery. Logging my daily steps to help me visually see what I have achieved
as part of my recovery and rehab. In April following discharge and an
amount of time to recover I restarted using my Fitbit to track my recovery and
achieved 12,166 steps. Last week I
achieved 48,476 steps and consistently met my target of 6000 steps a day.
My recovery
both physically and emotionally is ongoing. My daily walks have increased my
stamina whilst emotionally supporting my health and well-being by getting out
of the house. Only in the past fortnight have I felt confident enough to go for
a walk on my own, without the fear of overdoing it and not being able to get
home safely. Small steps to recovery
have made a big difference and I am steadily building up my stamina to sustain
my rehabilitation and recovery. I
recognise I still have a long way to go, having started a phased return to work
I am learning to balance work and family life with the challenges of Covid
fatigue. This will be something that
could be with me for a while! Despite this I have set myself a personal challenge
and have registered to participate in the Hope for Tomorrow 1000 miles in a
year challenge. The challenge will support my ongoing recovery and also help to
raise funds for a worthwhile charity.
This has
been a traumatic event both physically and mentally for me, my family and work
colleagues along with the care I have received have been invaluable throughout. Using the Health&Hustle is supporting my
ongoing recovery and will keep me focused and in touch with fellow members in
the challenges to give me the encouragement and support to achieve my new
goals. Thank you to everyone who has
been involved with my recovery, without you I wouldn’t be here today.