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I was an athlete – now I’m 30 and in a wheelchair thanks to long Covid

This article is more than 1 year old

I know a runner, a fighter, a coach are still in me. But I don’t feel like her any more

Read the Guardian’s new series, Living with long Covid

by Savannah Brooks. Illustrations by Julia Louise Pereira

A series of images showing the author growing up, playing soccer, lacrosse, kickboxing, MMA and boxing.

The author, closed eyes, suffering from Long Covid for six month, saying she is unable to walk for up to 45 minutes.

The author’s boyfriend carrying her after an episode. Her collapsing in a Walgreens. And her being unable to walk in a stadium.

Her doctor saying she has calm down her central nervous system, cutting out caffeine, eating vegetarian, taking leave from work.

Posting on Twitter, and trolls attacking me for making a mistake. I did make a mistake. I went to a large event and didn’t wear a mask because I was vaccinated, boosted, and living in Minneapolis.

Who am I when I lose the cornerstone of my identity?

I’m an example of what’s at stake, she says as she goes through life in a wheel chair.

Contrasting her as a team player, a captain, a runner with her as a Long Covid patient.

Her and her dad when she was younger, jumping in the pool. Later in a wheelchair, being unsure if she will be like her three-year-old self again.

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