A woman who believes it is the longest time she has been infected with the Coronavirus in the United Kingdom said that the virus has “ wiped her out of everything ” because she was still experiencing symptoms ten months later.
Nicola Kimberly, 53, believes she contracted the virus while traveling at Christmas last year.
After months in and outside the hospital, she was confirmed to have the virus when she tested positive in June.
Four months later, her symptoms are still so bad that she is “afraid to go to sleep” because she is worried that she will not wake up in the morning.
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“I have no idea if I would be better off,” she said.
Nicola began to feel ill when she went to St. Lucia over Christmas and spent her entire vacation in bed because she had pools of sweat, high temperatures, chills, pain, stabbing, cough, and inflammation of the kidneys and bladder.
Her condition did not improve when she returned home in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and told her that she had swine flu.
The former BBC journalist said: “ Two or three GPs and a rheumatologist, everyone who saw me during January and February could not figure out why such strange symptoms appeared and worsened.
I felt they all gave in to me. More and more I felt that something was wrong with me.
My arms and legs were swollen and were bright red, and I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t even open the door to the hematologist I had to see.
I had no strength. You have erased. I never knew anything like it but nobody believed me.
“My father said that I suffer from ‘internetisis’ (a term referring to an illness discovered due to spending a lot of time on the internet) and I haven’t really spoken to him since.
She has been hospitalized a lot since testing positive, saying that some organs and glands have stopped working properly.
She said she lost her sight for a few hours before returning blurry, still feeling sore, had joint and chest pains and had trouble breathing.
The self-employed financial advisor said: It is an burning virus, it sits and hides inside the body before it comes out.
The longest I have had is seven days when I am starting to feel almost back to normal.
But the virus bothers you, the next day you cannot stand, and your ears are bleeding.
It is the most terrible disease, it takes everything from you.
You are afraid to fall asleep because you are worried that you will not wake up in the morning. I have no idea if I would be any better.
Nicola said the virus has also taken a huge toll on her mental health.
She said, “I used to be a BBC journalist, was eloquent and now my short-term memory is gone. I will be beaten in a scrabble by a two-year-old.”
Nicola has gained strength from support groups for people who have suffered from Coronavirus for a long time.
She also warned young people not to think that they are immune and to be aware of the severity of the disease.
The first known person diagnosed with coronavirus in the United Kingdom is a 75-year-old woman who tested positive for the virus on February 21, according to the University of Nottingham.
The North Bristol NHS Trust’s Discover Project study from August found that nearly three-quarters of hospitalized patients with coronavirus continue to experience symptoms three months later.
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