Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page for Long Covid - bare with me as I provide some thoughts and background on this cause!

Post-viral illness is nothing new, yet it remains one of the least recognised conditions in modern medicine. ME / CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), for example, is a chronic illness that shares many similarities with Long Covid, and was first defined decades ago.

The majority of ME / CFS cases are debilitating, and are diagnosed after an individual has experienced a viral infection, such as Influenza or Glandular Fever. Despite it's official definition as a chronic medical condition, ME / CFS is critically underfunded and under researched. Sufferers are often forgotten by society and their concerns are regularly disregarded by medical practicioners.

There is also growing evidence that MS (Multiple Sclerosis) may, in many instances, be triggered by EBV (the virus that causes Glandular Fever). It is my personal speculation that viruses may often be an unidentified (and underestimated) contributor to many significant medical conditions.

Covid-19 is yet another virus that causes post-viral problems, but this one seems to do it on a much more frequent basis. Long-term sickness has risen to unprecedented levels in the UK since 2020, and Covid-19 continues to circulate worldwide with very few efforts to halt it's spread.

In 2022, I tested positive for Covid-19 and was thereafter unable to perform even the most basic exercise for at least 6 months, whilst I experienced a wide range of other medical issues, some of which I still live with to this day. Until my GP suggested that these issues could have been linked to my Covid infection, I had no idea that this was even a possibility, as it is so under reported in the media.

I have since learned that millions of people in the UK suffer from much more severe versions of this condition, plus many may suffer from issues related to Long Covid but they haven't yet connected the dots. These sufferers are often bedbound and, much as they'd like to, they are unable to return to work or even partake in simple activities due to their condition.

You can find out more about Long Covid here.

Due to unexplainable exhaustion, PEM (Post-Exertional Malaise), or PoTS (Postural Tachycardia Syndrome), those with ME & Long Covid are often unable to stand up for themselves and demand more research into post-viral conditions, so I have chosen to raise money for them when I compete in the Cheltenham Half-Marathon on 1st September 2024!