Ben

Ben caught Covid for the first time in the summer of 2020. He caught Covid for the second time in December 2020 from school just before the Christmas holidays. He was diagnosed with Long Covid in September 2021. Ben has frequent headaches, chest and leg pain and fatigue and insomnia and has been in and out of school for over a year and is still not back full-time. Ben’s mum also has Long Covid. He was interviewed in March 2022.

Ben caught Covid for the first time in the summer of 2020. He had it mildly but didn’t feel quite right till October. Ben caught Covid for the second time from school in December 2020, just before the Christmas holidays. In January 2021 he started to get more symptoms, frequent headaches, chest and leg pain and fatigue and insomnia. At the time he didn’t think it was Long Covid, just short-term effects of having had Covid for the second time, but by March he suspected he had Long Covid – it was diagnosed by his GP in September 2021. He was told just to rest and stay out of school. He was referred to a Long Covid clinic and he had found them helpful in building a plan for the future and he was prescribed melatonin for his sleep problems, but it gave him side effects. Ben has been in and out of school for over a year and is still not back full-time. Ben’s mum, who also has Long Covid, has been unable to return to work until recently.

Ben feels his Long Covid not just affects him physically but also mentally and has had a big impact on his learning ‘it just impacts in so many different ways.’ Some of his friends at school have been understand but he feels he has lost contact with others as he has been in and out of school for such a long time. Some teachers are supportive and say ‘do what you can’ but other are expecting him to keep up with the other students. He finds this difficult due to brain fog and memory problems, which doesn’t help with revision and tests. He concentrates on doing what he can in core subjects – “Some subjects I’m behind, but I’m still doing maths, English, science, computer science, I’m still making sure I’m on top of them really.  Just trying…” He has an iPad from school to help keep up with lessons.

He hasn’t yet been vaccinated as he is unsure whether it will make him better or worse. It has made his mum’s Long Covid worse, and he doesn’t want to risk that yet. He is less worried about catching Covid again.

While Ben and his mum have been ill his dad has taken over household chores and looking after his siblings, and they don’t really go out as a family at the moment. He knows that his youngest sibling has been very worried about his mum and brother being ill. Ben would like to get back to school full-time and back to doing clubs and activities, but is taking things day-by-day. He finds it hard adjusting to seeing people again and “I get like anxiety around people” which he thinks is not just due to Long Covid but also to the lockdowns and fear of catching Covid again and making his Long Covid worse.

Ben advised that people ‘try not to worry’ because there isn’t a ‘clear path’ yet. There will be good days and bad days.

Age at interview 14

Ben is getting less worried as time goes on. He sometimes wears a mask when he’s out, but it depends on the situation.

Age at interview 14

Ben has Long Covid and says he is going to wait to have a Covid vaccine until he is nearly better. He says, “it could make it better, but it could make it worse.”

Age at interview 14

Ben wanted to get back to “doing stuff” and being in school. He still wanted to find out how long he would be affected for.

Age at interview 14

Melatonin didn’t work for Ben as it was causing him side effects, but he thinks vitamin D and B12 have definitely helped his sleep.

Age at interview 14

Ben prioritised staying on top of “core” school subjects, like English and science, but to save “brain power” he didn’t work on art and drama.

Age at interview 14

Ben was expecting a quick recovery which didn’t happen.

Age at interview 14

Ben says Long Covid “messes with people” mentally as well as physically. After being at home ill for a long time, he now gets anxious and is finding it hard to adjust being back around people at school and clubs.

Age at interview 14

Ben noticed that sports and afterschool clubs drained his energy, so he has stopped doing them.

Age at interview 14

Ben had a very inconsistent sleeping pattern because of Long Covid. He was trying to adapt it to create a more regular sleep routine.

Age at interview 14

Ben’s brain fog made it difficult for him to do tests at school, because he couldn’t remember information he had revised.

Age at interview 14