12 January 2023

After catching and recovering from COVID-19 earlier this year, former Sefton PE teacher, headteacher and sports enthusiast, Eric Morris describes how he continued to suffer ongoing symptoms and completely lost his mobility and independence, before eventually finding out he had Long COVID.

Even after testing negative for COVID-19 after several days with the virus, his health continued to deteriorate, resulting in breathlessness, loss of his physical abilities and what he terms ‘brain fog’ – he has no memory of the early days of suffering from the condition.

His wife of 47 years, Jean, became a full time carer to Eric, helping him to eat, wash and go to the bathroom. Eric recalls that he couldn’t even stand up in the kitchen long enough to make a cup of tea.

Eric said: “After COVID, I realised something wasn’t right, I couldn’t breathe properly, I could barely walk from the front door to the car without just collapsing, ‘flopping’ and gasping for breath.

“It’s destroyed my body, destroyed my life…catching this dreadful disease.”

Diagnosing Long COVID

Eric and Jean eventually sought help from their local GP to have the debilitating symptoms checked out. Their GP recognised the signs of Long COVID and referred Eric to our Long COVID clinic in Southport for treatment.

There, the Long COVID team assessed his condition and started him on a programme of rehabilitation and support including breathing exercises, physiotherapy, mobility support and equipment to help improve his condition and support him to become more independent at home again.

Eric shares his experience at the Long COVID clinic:  

Thanking the Long COVID team for their support, Eric said: “They are special people at the Long COVID service. They can’t do enough for me.

“The benefit I’ve had from their advice and support, their enthusiasm, their humour, their understanding of my situation - thank you just doesn’t seem enough.”

How to get help

Eric has come a long way since his diagnosis and is starting to see the results of his treatment, becoming more mobile and learning to control his breathing again.  Eric’s advice to others is to be aware that there can be longer term effects from having COVID-19, and if they spot any ongoing symptoms to make an appointment with their GP to get a referral to the Long COVID clinic.

Lara Grant, physiotherapist within our Long COVID clinic in Southport, said: “We have seen definite improvements in our patients. Sometimes it’s just little things that people don’t realise they’ve missed, like being able to unload the dishwasher or shave without getting out of breath.

“If you think you might have Long COVID, do contact your GP and they can refer you into our service. We have GPs, physiotherapists and social prescribers on site to help you, but can also refer you into community services such as occupational therapy.”

Know the symptoms

Long COVID is a term to describe the effects of COVID-19 that continue for weeks or months beyond the initial illness. The health watchdog NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) defines Long COVID as lasting for more than 12 weeks, but patients can be referred for treatment any time after four weeks from the start of symptoms. Long COVID symptoms commonly experienced by patients include:

  • Fatigue
  • Breathlessness
  • Anxiety and depression
  • Palpitations
  • Chest pains
  • Joint or muscle pain
  • Not being able to think straight or focus (‘brain fog’)
  • Dizziness
  • Persistent cough
  • Loss of taste or sense of smell 

To find out more about our Long Covid service, visit the section on our website.

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