Anne Cook

Anne has been living with the symptoms of Long Covid since 2021 and was forced into medical retirement from her role working with children in a nursery. Anne then got support in the Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland Long Covid support group and recently became a CHSS Community Connector volunteer.

Living with Long Covid has changed Anne Cook’s life immeasurably. No longer able to work, she has to plan any outings meticulously, knowing she’s likely to be quickly floored by fatigue.

But Anne has retained one thing – a desire to help others as much as she can.

It’s why she has recently become a Community Connector volunteer with Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland. She credits the organisation’s Advice Line for giving her the help and support she needed as she learned to live with the symptoms of Long Covid.

And she counts as friends those like her who are dealing with Long Covid and are part of the charity’s online Long Covid Support Group.

Anne, 59, of Glasgow, said: “The Advice Line was my saviour. I was able to call them every other day and the help and support they gave me was second to none.

“I’d been hospitalised with Covid-19, then they found a clot on my lung. I was so scared that there might be more clots, but when I spoke to the Advice Line, they were so reassuring and helpful. It made such a difference to me in those early days.”

A married mum of two grown-up daughters, Anne first contracted Covid-19 early in 2021. At first she seemed to recover quickly but then developed chest pain and ended up in hospital for three days.

Since then she has been beset by an ever-present array of symptoms of Long Covid, including chest pain, headache, dizziness and cramping.

She had worked for Glasgow City Council for 21 years and was fit and healthy, regularly attending Zuma classes. But Anne was never able to return to a physically demanding full-time job in a nursery and has since taken medical retirement.

She remains positive and becoming a volunteer with Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland has given her greater determination to deal with the condition.

Anne said: “When I heard about the Community Connector role, it seemed ideal for me. I share posts on social media and encourage other people to do that, too. It’s a great way to spread the message about the support people like me can get from CHSS.

“After all the help I got from the Advice Line and the support and friendships I’ve made on the support group, it seems to least I can do to give a little something back.

“I would love to do more, but every morning I have to assess how much I’m able to do that day, so I don’t want to commit to something and then let anyone down.

“I joined one of the volunteer health walks, but I get very tired after a short time – my legs simply give up – so I haven’t managed out on that again. I have to be careful not to push myself too far.”