A once healthy and energetic mother of three was left bedridden for a year after long Covid symptoms left her in extreme pain on a daily basis.
Kirsty Huxter, who received three doses of the Covid vaccine months before contracting the virus in December 2022, was in such pain she was “afraid” to move in case she “had a heart attack”.
The 46-year-old from Essex, like millions of others, initially had mild symptoms, mainly headaches and tiredness, but a nightmare followed for the next 12 months.
She went from being a budding writer volunteering at her local church to barely being able to move without breaking into ‘shakes.’
The only time he got out of bed was to go to the bathroom.
Kirsty Huxter, who received all three vaccines months before contracting the virus in December 2022, was in such pain that she was “afraid” to move in case she had “a heart attack”.
Four days after testing positive, Ms Huxter, pictured with her husband David, returned to work because she was “feeling fine”.
“There were virtually no symptoms. I only got tested because my husband, David, had a headache,” she explained.
“Otherwise, I would have thought he was just a little tired.”
Four days after testing positive, Ms Huxter, mother to Rachel, 20, Leah, 17, and Elijah, 14, returned to her job as manager of the youth charity because she was “feeling fine”.
But as the aspiring writer began walking to work, she began to get short of breath.
“I was also getting tired by the end of the afternoon, so I tried to get more rest,” he said.
Although many people point to fatigue as a side effect of Covid, Ms Huxter felt something was wrong when she did not recover after a few weeks and her fatigue worsened.
“I started doing click and collect instead of going to the supermarket because I didn’t think I could walk 45 minutes and I was working from home a few days a week. By this time, I was getting tired but otherwise I felt fine,” she said.
Although many people notice fatigue as a side effect of Covid, Ms Huxter felt something was wrong when she did not recover after a few weeks and her fatigue worsened.
Extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness, brain fog, joint pain and muscle aches are telltale signs of long Covid.
But a month later, in February 2023, he began to feel “very ill” and needed to stay in bed more often.
“That was my first indicator that this wasn’t going to go away just like that,” he said.
‘I continued for a few months setting my own pace, barely leaving the house, working from home, but still doing housework.
‘I noticed that one night after taking out the trash, I felt absolutely exhausted; my muscles were burning.’
Around two million people in the UK are reported to be living with long Covid, including 112,000 children, while US officials suggest one in ten people who contract the virus will develop the disease.
Extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness, mental confusion, joint pain and muscle aches are telltale signs of this condition.
In June last year, Mrs Huxter woke up at 4am alone at home with her heart racing and not stopping. She called an ambulance because she was “afraid” to move “in case she had a heart attack”.
Two months later, in August 2023, she was bedridden and could only stand up to go to the bathroom.
Ms Huxter recalls that she finally felt better after a few days of rest; five months after testing positive, she was able to get out of the house more.
But one night her debilitating symptoms returned.
“I couldn’t stand for long, I felt like I was being pushed to the ground,” he recalled.
In June last year, Mrs Huxter woke up at 4am alone at home with her heart racing and not stopping.
She called an ambulance because she was “afraid” to move “in case she had a heart attack.”
But despite his ordeal, he was discharged from the hospital and told he was “young and healthy.”
But two months later, in August 2023, she was bedridden and could only stand up to go to the bathroom.
“I ate all my meals in bed. My sleep was not restful and I often lay awake for hours during the night,” she said.
She confessed that she even had trouble reading books because they gave her headaches because “the words became blurry on the page.”
Mrs Huxter said: ‘I could also only watch TV for about 30 minutes at a time because it exhausted me.
‘It must not have been easy for my children to watch their previously healthy mother become so radically different.
“I relied on them to help me with basic tasks, like bringing me food and water. I had to give up my role as manager of the youth charity because I am not able to do that.”
It was during these “frightening and confusing” times that Mrs. Huxter found herself thinking a lot about death.
She said: ‘I didn’t think about my life or what I used to be able to do or what I couldn’t do because I felt overwhelmed.
“It was scary and confusing. I thought a lot about death: Was this the end? Should I start writing letters to my children in case this was the end?”
Last September, she again began to struggle to breathe and called an ambulance. She was then referred to an NHS long-Covid clinic.
She remembers feeling like she was being “poisoned” and losing six kilos due to intestinal problems.
“When I told this to a paramedic, she said, ‘Well, at least you’re thin. ‘ We even bought a cheap wheelchair online when I realized I couldn’t walk anywhere anymore,” she said.
After a long battle with a variety of symptoms, Ms Huxter, “desperate to try anything”, began using a neuromodulator, a small device that sends mild electrical signals that modulate the nervous system, similar to a TENS machine.
After a long battle with a variety of symptoms, Ms Huxter, “desperate to try anything”, began using a neuromodulator, a small device that sends out gentle electrical signals that modulate the nervous system, similar to a TENS machine.
Now, two years into her battle with long Covid, she can go for a walk, take a bath, pour herself a bowl of cereal and even look at her phone or computer for brief moments.
Even though it made her feel a little better, she was still struggling with lingering symptoms.
“They come and go and sometimes new symptoms appear, but there is never a reason why a symptom will get worse or better,” she said.
“This makes it really hard to pace myself or keep track of anything. I’ve suffered from extreme fatigue, lack of sleep, anxiety, brain fog, tingling, tremors, muscle pain, headaches.”“I have nausea and intestinal problems. Some have come and gone. Others, like fatigue, have been constant,” she added.
Now, two years after his battle with long Covid began, he can go for a walk, take a bath, pour himself a bowl of cereal and even look at his phone or computer for brief moments. But he is still “a world away” from his “normal life”.
“My day is measured in terms of energy. If I have a doctor’s appointment, that’s the only thing I can do that day, as I’ll need energy to get dressed and leave the house,” she said.
She added: “My dream of becoming a writer is not frozen, it’s on ice. I don’t know what capacity I will recover, cognitively or physically, so I don’t have any plans.”