Vonnie
Vonnie is 59, married and has 3 children and 2 step-children. Ethnicity: Black British.
Vonnie first became unwell at the start of 2020. Eventually an antibody test confirmed that she had had Covid. Vonnie is the head of her family as her parents have passed on and so during this time she describes the impact on her family as “dire.” Vonnie was interviewed in November 2021.
More about me...
Vonnie caught a really bad virus at the start of 2020. She developed a fever, and felt lethargic and “lifeless.” After a few weeks she felt a little bit better and returned to work, but says she really “pushed it” and by mid-March became unwell again. At the time she wasn’t sure if it was Covid because headaches were not listed as a symptom on the NHS website. However, over time Vonnie’s condition deteriorated and she describes feeling “like a zombie” with a fever, body aches, sore throat, and changes in taste and smell. She suspected it was Covid and says it was around this time that things went “downhill” with chest pains, heart palpitations, coughing and breathing problems.
An ambulance was called to Vonnie’s house and the paramedics said “suspected Covid.” Vonnie continued to experience severe symptoms and says she was “out of it for a good three months.” Eventually an antibody test confirmed that she had had Covid.
Vonnie is the head of her family and so during this time she describes the impact on her family as “dire.” Help came from her church community and her children, and her husband juggles work with caring and household chores.
Vonnie eventually tried to get back to work but was frequently off sick and has now had to give up her job. She worries about how her Long Covid is affecting her family as she says “There’s no-one cooking proper meals anymore.” She also misses being able to do things like going to the cinema with her grandchildren. Vonnie worries about the strain her being unwell puts on her husband and children. She thinks they feel as though “they’ve lost someone, but they’re still there.”
Vonnie said she had been too ill to get her vaccine. She was not ‘anti-vax’ but she was unclear about whether she needed to be vaccinated if she still had antibodies after having Covid.
Vonnie said she had been too ill to get her vaccine. She was not ‘anti-vax’ but she was unclear about whether she needed to be vaccinated if she still had antibodies after having Covid.
Yeah, and I also can’t remember if you said you’d been vaccinated or not?
Me, I’m not able to at the moment simply because I was-, I’ve been too ill. I can’t, And I’ve discussed this with the consultant, which he agreed, I’m just coming from-, where I’m coming from at the moment: not yet, not, I’m not anti-vac, but not yet.
Yeah. Have other people in your family been vaccinated?
Yes, they have, well, they’re carrying on out there, so.
Yeah, okay. So, is it something you want to do in the future if you recover enough?
Oh, yes because it’s-, I’ve got mixed feelings about it. I think my antibodies, I’ve got antibodies to start with, so if I’ve got antibodies, it’s a, it’s something I’ve got to work out in my mind. I’ve got antibodies, so I do I need to be vaccinated? But if I haven’t got antibodies, you know? Will they know enough about it, about the vaccination? [inaudible] I will take it. But I’m not an anti-vax person.
Vonnie said that people needed information about Long Covid at an early stage and services should be ‘one-stop’ and brought together ‘under one umbrella’.
Vonnie said that people needed information about Long Covid at an early stage and services should be ‘one-stop’ and brought together ‘under one umbrella’.
I think from the moment you’ve got Covid, then information about Long Covid should be given to you, and even if you’ve had the vaccination, you must also be informed that Long Covid could be something what you develop after the vaccination. When you go into, like, your GP offices, you’ve got things like sepsis and stroke notices and things like that all over, you need to start getting this information out there as well, you know, notices out.
Long Covid: it, I think it’s something which everyone tries to keep quiet; it needs to be shouted out. But you don’t need to feel guilty about having Long Covid because it’s something beyond your control. They should make it more of a one-stop, so if you’ve got Long Covid, everything’s under one umbrella. How do you know I can afford to go to this place and then tomorrow to that place, and then to the other place? How do you know I can afford that? How do you know how it’s affected my employment? How does my employer know how to treat someone with Long Covid? Yes, it might be documented, it’s you know, the equal the Equality Act, disabled act, but how do you literally know what to do for that person? How do you know-? I was stood in a queue for a few minutes last week to get my medication, I don’t know if I remember saying this or not, and within a few minutes I realised I couldn’t stand, I started, the symptoms started as you’ve seen before.