If you have long Covid, as I did, don’t give up hope. Recovery is possible | Paul Garner

It's different for everyone. In my case, finding an explanation for my symptoms that made sense was the key

Covid-19 affects people in a range of different ways. For some its a mild illness; to others, it's lethal. For me, it turned into a poorly understood condition that doctors call post-Covid syndrome but most people know as long Covid. I'm a professor of infectious diseases, and one of the first people in the country to have reported on long Covid. Now, an estimated one million people in the UK say they are experiencing symptoms from the wide range that make up this condition. In the same way that the virus itself causes illness of varying severity, everyone's experience of long Covid will be different, and personal to them.

I want to share my story of how I recovered. For those still battling with long Covid, I want them to hear that recovery is possible, and to have hope.