Danielle’s Behind the Mask Experience

Danielle was very rarely ill, she used to be a teacher and was no stranger to germs. She was fit and healthy but she became ill with Coronavirus and was off work for three weeks and could still feel the impact of the illness for weeks after that. Danielle thought she was invincible; sadly, she wasn’t.

Danielle said:

“It was the end of May when I became ill with Coronavirus. I felt dreadful, I had a raging temperature, a cough, I lost my sense of taste, couldn’t eat anything and just couldn’t get out of bed for three weeks.

When you’re as active as I am, it’s hard to be housebound even with a cold but when you add to that the very real fear of what we now know is a dangerous, debilitating and life threatening illness, well it was an incredibly scary place to be. I didn’t want to be another statistic, another one lost to this terrifying virus.

I had been following all the guidance; I was working from home, keeping socially distanced and washing my hands regularly and when I did have to go into work or go anywhere I had all the necessary PPE on but I still managed to catch it.

For a couple of weeks after I had started to recover I still had a bad cough. I was rarely ill and never had time off work so I was surprised that I had caught it and that I suffered so badly.

I want everyone to take this seriously, so please take it seriously. I’m a testament to the fact that this isn’t something that only affects old or vulnerable people. Anyone can become ill with Coronavirus and it isn’t just a bad cold, it is a horrible illness. Please take all the necessary precautions to keep yourselves and your families safe. No illness has done this to me before – it was horrendous.”