This has been a remarkably difficult blog post to write. I didn’t really know how to approach it because, whilst I accept there are often setbacks in life, I absolutely hate having to give up on a challenge. I also hate moaning on about my health – but it seems that I am about to do both.
As I mentioned in my last post, I tested positive for Covid-19 on 8th May – almost 2 months ago. Up to this point, I felt that my training for the Henley Mile had been going extremely well – probably much better than I had anticipated. My new knees were getting stronger by the day. I was swimming regularly and, becoming fitter. On my last day of sea-swimming in Mallorca, I calculated that I had covered about 1km. All seemed to be well on track for smashing it on 10th July.

I honestly thought that catching Covid at this late stage would be little more than an inconvenience. After all, my brilliant 82-year-old neighbour had had it at the start of the year and barely experienced any symptoms whatsoever. After over 2 years and seemingly endless mutations and variants, surely whichever version of the virus I had caught now would be markedly less potent? Keep a positive mindset and I would be up and about again in no time …

I have discovered that, unfortunately, positivity only goes so far in overcoming physical symptoms. 8 weeks on I still have a hacking cough, breathlessness, sore throat and laryngitis (from all the coughing), intermittent chills and pretty severe fatigue. All the hallmarks of what is commonly referred to as Long Covid. Probably the most frustrating thing is that these symptoms come and go in terms of severity.

I recently attended my long-deferred MBA Graduation ceremony at the University of Exeter. I was honestly in two minds whether to go, even up to the morning of the event, because I really didn’t feel I had the energy to do so. My lovely husband talked me into it, chauffeured me there and back and chaperoned me throughout the day. Whilst it was lovely to reunite with friends from my cohort, I unexpectedly almost fainted having become very breathless after walking up a flight of stairs. Talk about embarrassing! Not to mention worrying for my husband who had to catch me. When it got to the ceremony itself I was praying that I wouldn’t become faint again or have a coughing fit and disrupt the proceedings! Luckily I held it together, but the whole adventure was utterly draining. I found myself beyond exhausted for the following few days, unable to do much more than drag myself out of bed in the morning.

I have, over the past couple of months, tried lots of different approaches to getting over the symptoms. A remote consultation with my GP yielded no solutions. Inhaling steam to try to get the cough to abate sometimes helps, sometimes doesn’t. Whenever there is a ray of sunshine, no matter how feeble, I sit outside to top up vitamin D levels (often swathed in a blanket and wearing my fleecy bed socks to combat the chills, even though it is ‘summer’!) On the off-chance that I might be a bit anaemic, I’ve been eating loads of asparagus, because it’s in season and a natural source of folates. It makes my wee smell (!) but my energy levels remain stubbornly low. I’ve been to a couple of complementary therapists, recommended by concerned friends. The therapies were quite enjoyable but, sadly, ineffective in making any noticeable difference.

The upshot of all of this is that, reluctantly and with immense disappointment, I have had to concede that I am not currently well enough or able to swim the mile at Henley this coming Sunday. This is not, of course, the decision that I want to make but circumstances in this instance have proven beyond my control.

Thank you Henley Swim and This Girl Can for the opportunity and for motivating me to get swimming again, even if things haven’t gone exactly to plan and I haven’t achieved my end goal this year.

I am absolutely determined to get over this virus and have my sights firmly set on swimming the Henley Mile next year instead. Please wish me luck!

Stay Positive. Jill x