I had my first symptoms on March 22nd, 2020. Diarrhea, headache, and then flu-like symptoms. By day 5, shortness of breath came and went for the following week. The temperature never raised above 37.2° and I was never suffering from a persistent cough, however, I had itchiness on the soles of my feet and chills during the night.

By week 3 the pain moved from my chest into my abdomen and then my left side. X-rays and blood tests at the hospital showed my vitals were ok, some abnormalities in my blood typical of COVID-19 patients, and some high enzymes in my liver. In weeks 5-10, I have seen symptoms come and go in waves – headaches, fatigue, heavy heartbeats, and mucus on the chest.

In weeks 8-9 I had a lot more yellow sputum and some came up with drops of blood. I went back for tests and had my first COVID-19 test which came back negative. In week 9 I was prescribed azithromycin by my doctor which reduced the sputum although since my course finished it has come back. I’m now at 10.5 weeks and although I feel I have some energy back for housework, I still feel out of breath on walks and have mucus on my chest.

I get respite from showers, warm drinks and have cut out all alcohol and refined sugar from my diet – eating a mix of fruits, vegetables, eggs, and fish. I’ve started taking a zinc supplement and now drink nearly 1 liter of coconut water a day for increased potassium. Doing 40minutes of deep breathing exercises before bed also helps but even at this stage I still only feel 70-80% of how I did before I had the virus.