Long Covid victim discusses daily impact of virus
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Faithfull, 75, was hospitalised with Covid for three weeks back in April 2020 which took her to the brink of death. But since then, the singer of As Tears Go By, who was Sir Mick Jagger’s girlfriend in the late 60s, has been suffering “awful” long Covid. She is currently receiving support for the condition at Denville Hall in West London.
“I got so ill, I nearly died,” she said, talking about her initial Covid infection on the Broken Records Podcast.
“I was in hospital and all I remember about it is that I was in a very, very dark place and I presume that was being very close to death,” she added.
“It’s taken me so long to recover. I’ve got what they call long-term Covid.”
Long Covid, according to guidance for healthcare professionals, occurs when symptoms continue for more than 12 weeks which can’t be explained by another cause.
For Faithfull, the condition has fatigued her and affected her memory. She said her lungs are “still not OK” and she has to “have oxygen and all that stuff”.
She is also worried that she won’t be able to sing anymore.
“I’ve been working on my singing, practicing singing with a friend of mine who plays guitar, because I am really frightened that I wouldn’t be able to sing anymore.”
Faithfull was known as the Rolling Stones Muse and her first smash hit, As Tears Go By, was composed by Sir Mick, Andrew Oldham, and Keith Richards.
The typical long Covid symptoms, the NHS suggests, include extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, chest pain or tightness, as well as brain fog, changes to taste and smell, and joint pain.
But other research has found other symptoms. One study in Italy assessed persistent symptoms in discharged Covid patients and found that many were suffering from Sicca syndrome.
This causes dry eyes and a dry mouth.
Others, such as ITV’s Kate Garraway’s husband Derek have suffered from paralysis, caused by the onset of brain inflammation.
Faithfull is most frustrated by her “ghastly” short-term memory loss. “You wouldn’t believe how awful it is,” she said, discussing her memory loss.
Her move into Denville Hall was announced by a spokesperson: “Marianne is staying at Denville Hall while she recovers from the ongoing effects of Covid.”
Denville Hall offers dementia care, residential care, and end-of-life care for up to 40 people from the performing arts.
In the past, it has housed names like Lord Richard Attenborough and Fawlty towers actor Andrew Sachs, according to carehome.co.uk.
If you report long Covid symptoms to your GP, they will ask about them and what impact they’re having on your life.
They may offer some tests to rule out other causes of the disease.
Some studies suggest that long Covid may be an autoimmune disease where the immune system fights and attacks its own body tissues.
According to the MS (multiple sclerosis) Society, long Covid symptoms can be similar to MS symptoms.
In one small study published in Nature Communications, about half of people hospitalised with Covid had antibodies in their blood that could possibly mistakenly attack the body’s own proteins and tissues.
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