'Crippling fatigue': Gisborne locals among millions worldwide battling long Covid

Larisa Hockey (second from left) and Sarah Goldsbury (third left) connected through a long Covid support website Mrs Hockey helped establish. They have been messaging for a few months but this was the first time they have both been well enough to meet. They are pictured with Mrs Hockey’s husband John and Sarah’s mother Kaye. Picture by Liam Clayton

For Larisa Hockey, long Covid has been a debilitating condition she has endured for the past three years.

International Long Covid Awareness Day on March 15 was a chance for her to talk about her experience.

The day is about raising awareness of a condition that affects millions of people throughout the world. It is also to gain more insight through research while highlighting the need to support patients.

A collaborative effort saw Mrs Hockey take part in establishing a website which she now manages to better inform people, longcovidsupport.co.nz.

The website describes long Covid as “symptoms that continue or develop after your initial Covid-19 illness and cannot be explained by any other condition”.

A patient with long Covid tests negative for the virus, but their symptoms could include fatigue, nausea, headaches, pain, post-exertional malaise (PEM) and heart palpitations.

There are over 200 related symptoms, including “brain fog”. The symptoms can last weeks, months and, in some cases, years. PEM, or “crashing” after minimal exertion, is a common term used on the support group platform.

Rest and pacing herself has helped Mrs Hockey improve.

“There is no medication for crippling fatigue,” she said.

Her three teenage children are also slowly improving from their own bouts of long Covid. They were unable to continue their homeschooling for a time.

Husband John Hockey had to step up and take on a lot more of the workload to support the family.

“Some people may think this is a vaccine injury, which is real, too, but we are talking about being sick from the virus,” Mrs Hockey said.

Gisborne clinical neuro-psychologist Sarah Goldsbury understands the Hockeys’ experience, having suffered herself for the past two years.

“For most of last year I had to live within 10-20 percent of the energy capacity I had pre-Covid. Now I have about 30-40 percent of my pre-Covid energy, which feels amazing compared to where I was, but I still can’t drive my car or cook dinner.”

The energy-producing mitochondria cells can become damaged, leading to debilitating loss of energy, Mrs Hockey says.

“It’s like having broken batteries. If you overdo it, you use up energy that your body needs to function. Any little bit of exertion, like washing your hair, can be exhausting.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for a systematic collection of data on patients with long Covid.

Here in New Zealand, Victoria University of Wellington conducted its own study, asking people who were infected with Covid-19 before December 2021 to complete a survey. Of the 990 who responded, 22 percent identified as having long Covid.

Mrs Hockey believes installing better ventilation systems in schools and hospitals could lessen the risk of contracting Covid.

The Ministry of Health states that most people with Covid-19 recover within two to six weeks, though for some it can take up to 12 weeks. They recognise that a smaller group of people report symptoms lasting over an extended period.

The Ministry of Health has established a long Covid expert advisory group to assess the evidence on long Covid and apply it to the Aotearoa New Zealand context, to help inform recommendations for clinical practice and guidelines.

Mrs Hockey is looking forward to being able to ride her horse again one day.

“I am a lot better than I was two years ago, but I still have a long way to go.

“We need research and treatments to make some kind of a difference,” she says.