Sonal

Sonal is an Ayurvedic practitioner and her husband are both living with Long Covid. Her sons recovered after Covid, although one seems a bit quieter. Sonal was interviewed in June 2022.

Sonal and her husband both have Long Covid. Symptom-wise, Sonal says “there was a period that I felt I will never recover.” She experienced weakness and fatigue after Covid, “even in in the morning or especially like early afternoon, my body gets really weak.” She also had brain fog, a temperature, and sudden hair loss, with her hair coming out in big lumps, prompting her doctor to send her to a dermatologist. The dermatologist had seen some other Asian people with diabetes with the same hair loss symptoms because of Covid. Sonal says her hair loss scared her and made her feel depressed. Her blood sugar level also shot up during this time, “that was never the case in past 17 years that I had been managing [diabetes].” She was put on different medications with a higher dosage. Her blood sugar fluctuations made her “feel ill in my mind as well.” When Sonal had a recent eye check, with results suggesting the beginning of retinopathy. There is also a problem with her kidneys.

Alongside trying to recover from Long Covid, Sonal is also continuing with family duties – helping her sons, and looking after her mother, who had a fall in 2020. This required a hip replacement on top of other health issues, including heart problems and dealing with Long Covid herself. She is now disabled and Sonal is her carer, taking her to medical appointments. Sonal and her husband have been grieving family members who died of Covid, whilst also trying to deal with Long Covid, but that has made them closer as a couple.

Sonal’s friends, and most family, are supportive of her. They tell her she is still recovering, that she is trying to do too much and needs to cut down on her duties. However, Sonal believes that she also needs to keep her “mental health healthy as well,” and if she just sits around it will increase her weight, worsen other health problems, and she will also feel more ill or depressed. Sonal has been through various appraisals and reasonable adjustment meetings at her workplace. They have given her options such as counselling and discussing her health, but she currently doesn’t “want to go into that zone.”

Sonal feels like her recovery is “like half half,” and that she wishes other people understood more about it. Sometimes she feels “that people don’t understand me, people around me,” and that sometimes she feels ill because of it all. Sonal says that she sometimes also gets pain in her left hand and her chest feels heavy. Whether she is anxious, fearful of dying, or something is wrong internally she feels she “doesn’t want to know.” She summarises, “It’s just really scary.” However, Sonal feels that her health isn’t looked at holistically by doctors, saying “they don’t look at holistically, or they don’t look at other issues.” She says that the “doctor also puts fear,” telling her if she doesn’t take her medications, her heart and kidneys would be affected – “if you don’t take this, you will die.”

Sonal is an Ayurvedic practitioner and is now taking herbs and other treatments to try and manage her health after Covid.

Sonal’s son surprised her with a holiday to Lisbon, to give her a break and a rest.

But one good thing was that [son] who is middle one, he took me to Lisbon, April time.

Wow.

Yeah, it was so nice. That gave me a break and that, that I never had in my life that kind of break. But was going alone and usually he would go with his friends and this time he was going alone. And he said to my mum, “I’m going.” And I said, “Oh with your friends?” And he goes “No, alone.” I say, “Eh, why you going alone? Take me.” And he said, “Yeah.” So, I said “The sun was rising today from different….” And he just said, “My word, please take me.” He goes, “Only if you don’t give me hard time [laughs]” I said, “I’ll keep my mouth shut.” [Laughs]. He goes, “Don’t do this, that and other like silly things.” I said, “I won’t do anything. I’ll just follow you. I won’t say anything.” [laughs]. You know, four days was nice. He didn't talk much, but he did talk a little bit. We spent time together [laughs]. And whenever he came back, I said, “How much do I owe you?” It was not about money, but I didn't want him to feel out of pocket. He goes “Nothing.” “Oh, that’s nice. Thank you.” Before Mother’s Day you giving me gifts. It was nice.

That sounds amazing. Yeah.

And I would never have imagined, imagined that, his name is [son]. [Son] would spend time with me like this.

Yeah.

Yeah, so that was nice thing. So, I didn't feel stuck but my husband goes “Why you going?” I said, “You can’t take time off.” Mine is, I already had to take so many days that I’ve been asked by my manager, “Take days off. Take days off.” You know I was, “I need to take hours off.” So, I took the time and I’m allowed to take any time and so it’s fine. And you always wait for this, that and other, and by that time, [son] will change his mind and so I didn't want to wait for that change that he can change mind. I’d rather just go with him.

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Sonal is an Ayurvedic practitioner and takes supplements to manage her symptoms at home. She thinks she might be doing too much, as she has lots of caring responsibilities.

Absolutely. I feel that if I hadn’t used the Ayurveda in my life, even past. Before Covid passed me. Before Covid and during Covid, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be here. I know that for the fact. So, I feel that the, if I hadn’t had that in my system or not relying on Ayurveda, I would, my symptoms would’ve been more worse than what I had. I could, I could feel that. So, during this I feel, I feel, some people may have thought that oh, you are a Ayurvedic doctor, and you still got ill. I don’t look at that. I, I tell myself and tell them that because I’m this, I’ve survived and I’m coming up and getting there. So, where I was that bad and now who I am, I had a life-long journey in terms of recovery I did better than comparatively somebody else. I feel that.

And what sort of things do you do or take now?

Yes, so I made immunity powder for myself and for the patients who wanted it. So, I take that in the morning. And then to manage also my sugar level, I’m taking that. And then for the energy also for fatigue I’m taking different herbs. So, ginger, I would add more ginger in my water. And amla which is like you know gooseberry, Indian gooseberry, yeah. So, that has got excellent Vitamin C in there. So, it helps with the immunity and so, yeah, I try Ayurvedic ways to recover, yeah. But one more thing that I would need lots and lots of rest that I, I probably not doing that much because two things that, I feel if I, whatever I’m eating, if I’m not getting it used and digested that my sugar level will go up. So, for that reason, but my Covid is telling me that you need a rest. So, not, my body is saying, no Covid, but my body is saying that you need a rest. So, I would, I will rest for immediately I’ll just kind of yeah, that’s enough. But my body is saying, have rest, have more rest like that. So, it’s just ‘Catch 22’ which is—

Do you find that quite hard to just rest and not be doing different things?

At some point, I find it okay because it, it’s my house and it’s, everything is coming in the way I want it. But another thing is that it’s hard because I’m doing so many tasks and helping so many family members and all. So, like yeah, like I said, taking mum for appointments and all that as well.

So, you’re doing quite a bit of caretaking of other family members while also having to care for yourself.

Yeah. Because I feel that because I don’t want to let go of too much. Although like the boys are older and so 27 and 24 and 17. But I want to be there for them because, because I feel that was, I’m around if I give up on my responsibility then it becomes harder later on. So, I am trying to be there now and then.

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Sonal’s sons helped out with the cooking when she couldn’t manage; some were better cooks than others.

Yeah, they were worried and stressed when they saw me like that and anxious. But we work together, and everyone were keeping an eye on me, and they were keep, asking me to have rest, more rest and don’t worry about this, that and other like that. So, that support was there.

Were they able to help around the house with things if you were unable to do it?

Yeah. Yeah. They, they were very able in terms of food, cooking or anything and helping out with washing and cleaning. So, they would decide “you don’t have to cook, and we’ll manage” kind of thing.

Are they good cooks?

Yeah [laughs]. The older one is very good cook [laughs]. Yeah.

How many, are there three boys?

Three boys, yeah.

So, one of them, two of them are good, one of them not so good or—

Yeah [laughs]. They’re all good in the sense but the older one likes cooking. So, he would cook and then other would make like anything maybe into sort of beans or beans on toast or frozen something. But they wouldn't have to worry, and they’ll make toastie or sandwiches or yeah. So, they don’t have to worry about sometimes I worry that, oh, having Indian food and they, they said,” it’s not important. You just rest and we can manage like. Why are you here in the kitchen?” That kind of thing [laughs]. But I’ve seen them doing sometimes takeaway or junk food and more cheese and all that [laughs] – convenience because they work as well and so I try to just do a little bit of it and then they do the rest, kind of thing.

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