LONG COVID THE LONG BATTLE
Long Covid can be debilitating and it does not discriminate. Five officers talk about how they are trying to move forward with support, despite the barriers they face
MIKE DEARDEN “I am adapting to the new me” “I used to live an outdoors lifestyle. When I caught Covid, initially, I developed mild symptoms which steadily worsened. I
developed about 40 symptoms of varying severity. GPs had no answers and experimented with numerous, sadly ineffective, medications. “My family was worried. I had to be physically assisted out of cars and crawled up the stairs. I could barely read to my young children or play with them. At times, I just didn’t want to be here anymore. “Things have improved over time as I continue to adapt to the ‘new me’ two years on. I returned to work on minimal hours after six months. I can no longer do frontline work and work from home within the criminal justice team in a limited but slowly increasing capacity. Support was slow through the overstretched NHS, who
10 | POLICE | OCTOBER 2022
were completely uninformed about long Covid. It took a year before the long Covid clinic was established. “Support from work is fundamental in
enabling my recovery. OHSU provided knowledge, guidance and cognitive behaviour therapy. My line manager tailored my return to work to fit my condition, with the Federation’s and HR’s support. I hope to
and getting plenty of rest, I continued to feel fatigued.
“Stressful situations heighten my conditions and I no longer have the energy to deal with anything confrontational”
one day be back to where I was, though it’s likely to take years.”
TONY POOK “I would like to be told to take it easy”
Tony Pook from Lancashire talks about how he has been overwhelmed by long Covid. “In 2020, I contracted Covid at work
despite following all the rules. I returned to work and though I was eating healthily
“Over the next few months, I developed many other conditions related to Covid. A few years ago, I suffered a slipped disc on duty and it was aggravated during this time. For many years, I have had tinnitus in one ear which got worse with Covid, and now I must wear an NHS hearing aid to mask the sound. Due to my previous work-related injury, I have depression and anxiety. Again, Covid worsened it. I had to change medication which increased my weight, and I am only just now getting on top of this. “Then in 2021 I was diagnosed
with long Covid. It has had a massive impact on my domestic life. I rest a lot because of fatigue, and I have no incentive to do anything extra. “Stressful situations heighten my conditions and I feel I no longer have the energy to deal with anything that is or could be confrontational. Though I give my best at work, I worry it is not good enough. “I would like someone higher up to
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