A once healthy and energetic mother of three was confined to bed for a year after symptoms of long-Covid left her in extreme pain every day.
Kirsty Huxter, who received three doses of the Covid vaccine months before contracting the virus in December 2022, was so bad she was “afraid” to move for fear of “having a heart attack”.
The 46-year-old from Essex, like millions of people, initially experienced mild symptoms, mainly headaches and fatigue, but over the next 12 months a nightmare followed.
She went from an aspiring writer who volunteered at her local church to someone who could barely move without “shaking.”
She only got out of bed when she went to the toilet.
Kirsty Huxter, who had all three vaccines months before contracting the virus in December 2022, suffered so badly she was ‘afraid’ to move for fear of a ‘heart attack’
Four days after testing positive, Mrs Huxter, pictured here with her husband David, returned to work as she ‘felt fine’
“I had hardly any symptoms. It was only because my husband, David, had a headache that I took a test,” she said.
‘Otherwise I would think I was just a little tired.’
Four days after testing positive, Ms Huxter, mother of Rachel (20), Leah (17) and Elijah (14), returned to her job as manager of the youth organisation, saying she was “feeling fine”.
But when the aspiring writer walked to work, she found herself out of breath.
“I also got tired towards the end of the afternoon, so I tried to rest more,” she said.
While many people consider fatigue a side effect of Covid-19, Ms Huxter felt something was wrong when she failed to 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 around for 45 minutes and I was working from home a few days a week. At that point I was getting tired but otherwise I felt fine,’ she said.
While many people consider fatigue a side effect of Covid, Ms Huxter felt something was wrong when she failed to recover after a few weeks and her fatigue became worse
Extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, dizziness, brain fog, joint pain and muscle aches are all hallmark symptoms of a prolonged Covid-19 epidemic.
But a month later, in February 2023, she started feeling “really bad” and had to stay in bed more often.
“That was the first sign to me that this wasn’t going to go away,” she said.
‘I kept up my pace for a few months, barely leaving the house, working from home and still doing housework.
‘I noticed that after taking out the trash one night, I felt completely exhausted. My muscles were burning.’
Around two million people in the UK are reported to be suffering from long-Covid, including 112,000 children. According to US authorities, one in ten people who contract the virus will also develop the condition.
Extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, dizziness, brain fog, joint pain and muscle pain are all symptoms indicative of this condition.
In June last year, Mrs Huxter woke up alone at home at 4am with a heart palpitation that wouldn’t go away. She called an ambulance as she was ‘afraid’ to move ‘for fear of a heart attack’
Two months later, in August 2023, she was bedridden and could only stand to go to the toilet
Mrs Huxter recalls that after a few days of rest she finally felt better and was able to go outside more five months after testing positive.
But one night her debilitating symptoms returned.
“I couldn’t stand up for long. It felt like I was being pushed down to the ground,” she recalls.
In June last year, Mrs Huxter woke up at home alone at 4am with heart palpitations that would not go away.
She called an ambulance when she was “afraid” to move “for fear of a heart attack.”
But despite her ordeal, she was released from hospital with the news that she was “young and healthy.”
But two months later, in August 2023, she was confined to bed and could only stand to go to the toilet.
“I ate all my meals in bed. My sleep was not refreshing and I was often awake for hours at night,” she said.
She confessed that she had difficulty reading books because she got headaches because ‘the words appeared blurry on the page’.
Mrs Huxter said: ‘I could only watch television for about 30 minutes at a time because it exhausted me.
‘It must not have been easy for my children to see their previously healthy mother change so radically.
“I would trust them to help me with basic tasks, like bringing me food and water. My role as manager of the youth organization had to go because I can’t do it.”
It was during these ‘frightening and confusing’ times that Mrs Huxter thought much about death.
She said: ‘I didn’t think about my life or what I could or couldn’t do before because it felt overwhelming.
‘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 it?’
Last September she had difficulty breathing again and called an ambulance and was then referred to an NHS long Covid clinic.
She remembers feeling like she was being ‘poisoned’ and losing a stone due to intestinal problems.
“When I mentioned this to a paramedic, she replied, ‘Well, at least you’re slim.’ We even bought a cheap wheelchair online when I realised I couldn’t walk anywhere,” she said.
After a prolonged battle with various symptoms, Mrs Huxter, ‘desperate to try anything’, began using a neuromodulator, a small device that emits mild electrical signals that modulate the nervous system – similar to a TENS machine.
After a prolonged battle with various symptoms, Mrs Huxter, ‘desperate to try anything’, began using a neuromodulator, a small device that sends out mild electrical signals that modulate the nervous system – similar to a TENS machine
Now, two years after her battle with long-Covid began, she can walk again, take a bath, pour herself a bowl of cereal and even check her phone or computer.
Although she felt somewhat better, she still suffered from persistent complaints.
“They come and go and sometimes new symptoms arise, but there is never any reason why a symptom should get worse or better,” she said.
‘This makes it very difficult to time or track anything. I have had extreme fatigue, poor sleep, anxiety, brain fog, tingling, shaking, muscle pain, headaches.nausea and intestinal problems. Some have come and gone. Others, like fatigue, have been constant,” she added.
Now, two years after her battle with long Covid began, she can take a walk, take a bath, pour herself a bowl of cereal and even glance at her phone or computer. But it’s still a “world away” from her “normal life.”
“My day is measured in terms of energy. If I have a doctor’s appointment, that’s all I can do that day because it takes energy to get dressed and get out of the house,” she said.
She added: ‘My dream of becoming an author is not only on ice, but also in the freezer. I don’t know what capacity I will regain, cognitive or physical, so I don’t make any plans at all.’