Shaista became aware of Covid in early 2020 by following articles in the news. While travelling with her mum to perform pilgrimage in February, she remembers seeing lots of people in the airport travelling to countries which may have been “entry points” for Covid. Shaista started to feel unwell at the time, and her symptoms developed into coughing and fatigue by March 2020. Later, Shaista’s symptoms included an eye infection and a fever, which came and went every few days.

As testing for Covid wasn’t publically available, Shaista phoned the NHS hotline where she felt “dismissed and not listened to”. Shaista explained that people of colour have historically been failed by the medical profession but was only told “that’s the best [the hotline] can offer at the moment”. When testing became available, Shaista tested negative but still suspected that she was unwell. She says the experience “felt like gaslighting”.

Shaista found that her GP was “very compassionate and very caring”, and in January 2021 they diagnosed Shaista with Long Covid. Despite being referred to a Long Covid clinic at the time, Shaista hadn’t received a referral from the clinic by June.

Shaista decided to “go public” with her diagnosis to raise awareness that “everyone’s Covid experience is unique” and found a number of friends had received the same diagnosis. She felt that the “rhetoric from the Government was disgraceful” and may explain some of the stigma surrounding Long Covid. She also points out the narrative in the media about Covid is “laced in racism and bigotry”, as the people most likely to be hurt by Covid are “blamed for spreading the disease”.

Shaista found that her physical and mental health were both affected when ten people she were connected to passed away due to Covid over the course of three days. Shaista feels that her mental health is now something she’s “really aware of more than any other time” and her “life has changed a lot”. She plans to “take each day as it comes” and thinks that addressing structural racism as well as building trust with healthcare professionals should be prioritised as part of recovering from the pandemic.