A FIREFIGHTER has described the long term effects that Covid has had on his life.

Matthew, 45, contracted Covid in November of 2020, suffering with noticeable breathlessness and fatigue which slowly faded off.

However, in March of 2021 he noticed that his fitness ‘just completely dropped off’ and then he developed a cough, so he went and got tested and the test came back as negative.

At this point, Matthew had started coughing up blood and he had a pain in his lower right back, which increased exponentially over a matter of days to the point where he couldn’t lay down and was struggling to breathe and talk.

He was admitted into hospital shortly after due to the pain and had a plethora of tests including CAT scans, ultrasounds and blood tests.

Eventually he was diagnosed with having blood clots in both lungs, an infection in his right lung and pleurisy.

The hospital confirmed that it was a direct result of having Covid in November.

Matthew describes these long-term health affects caused by Covid as 'luck of the draw' as he was previously in good physical health.

Matthew said: “I’m in the fire service and off the back of that I wasn’t allowed to return to work because I was on anticoagulant drugs for six months.

“The fatigue has now pretty much gone, it was at a point where it would just be a normal day and it felt like someone had pulled the plug out of you and within a minute you just needed to lay down and have a nap.

“That has now deteriorated, the only times I get any fatigue is after I’ve done some arduous physical activity and then for a day of two afterwards, I feel a bit wiped out but that is the extent of it at this point.

“Physically I would say I’m probably 98 per cent back to health, I do have an area of permanent damage in my right lung but not enough to affect me.

“But one thing that was identified by the Long Covid Clinic, which I am very grateful for, was the mental health aspect of it.

“They identified that I had elevated depression and anxiety off the back of being ill, which they said was quite common but they’ve helped enormously with it by keeping in contact and giving me CBT.

“We’ve discussed medication and they’ve just been very supportive.”

Matthew recommends anyone who thinks they may be suffering to speak to the Post Covid Syndrome Service, otherwise known as the Long Covid Clinic.

He said: “I do know people that have lost family members and I do know people that have suffered or had long term health issues off the back of it.

“Everybody’s different it’s not a one pill cures all but I would strongly suggest that you do get in contact with your GP and you do get in contact with these long Covid clinics.

“They want to look at you as a person, it’s not a generic service, it’s about getting you supported, so just go and make contact.”

Matthew is now back in work, after completing lots of physical tests that have allowed him to become an operational fire fighter again.

He still speaks to the Post Covid Syndrome Service but he says: “now we’ve agreed that out appointments are going to feather out a bit now because they’ve helped me and there are other people out there that they can help more now and I’m 100 per cent behind that.”