An Aberdeen mum and long Covid sufferer is planning to travel to Germany for specialist treatment in the hopes she can return to some normality.
Kate Stott has had to give up a lot since contracting Covid two years ago.
The award-winning entrepreneur has been forced to close her business and miss out on countless precious moments with her family.
The 35-year-old tech founder has been left with mobility issues, severe headaches, fatigue and chronic pain largely confining her to her home.
While she knows there is no cure for the disease at this point, she is hoping seeking specialised treatment in Germany will give her some relief.
She said: “As we all know there is no magic bullet for long Covid at the moment because it’s such a multi-system disease.
“This therapy can aid to relieve some of the symptoms of long Covid and for me right now anything, any relief is an added bonus.”
‘I’d like to be able to leave the house’
Long Covid sufferers from the UK have been travelling to Germany for apheresis treatment which essentially cleanses the blood of clots and harmful components.
It is based on the fact that Covid-19 can cause blood clots and damage the lining of small blood vessels, potentially causing long Covid.
While Mrs Stott will not be getting the treatment when she travels in August, her blood will be tested initially for micro clots and hyperactive platelets which is common among those with long Covid.
If she tests positive, she will be able to to pick up a prescription in Germany to help elevate some of her symptoms.
The mum-of-three said she hopes it will improve her poor vision, mobility issues and some of her energy levels.
She said: “I’d like to be able to leave the house and take the kids to school and get back to driving again – that would be amazing.
“And at least try and elevate some of the fatigue so I’m able to go about a day at a little bit of a faster pace. That would be hugely beneficial just now.
“I’m constantly weighing up whether I’m able to go for a shower and cook the kids’ dinner at night within the same day. So it would be amazing not to have those choices and just be able to do what I want to do.”
The kids are just wanting their mum back to normal
Slightly nervous about the physical toll of having to travel so far, Mrs Stott added: “I’m very much aware of probably how much the journey is going to take out of me.
“But I can only think positively about it and hope that it will be worth it in the long run.
“The kids are excited for me to go, they’re very much just wanting mum to get back to normal and my husband as well.”
With more 150,000 people suffering with long Covid in Scotland and over two million people in the UK, Mrs Stott said it was “incredibly frustrating” that the treatment was not yet accessible for sufferers more locally.
Especially as the medication and equipment used in treatment is “readily available” in the UK.
Some people do not have another two years of suffering in them
She said: “You know there’s people that are really, really ill and I don’t know if they’ve got another two years in them to suffer like this.
“People who are badly suffering with long Covid can’t go and advocate for themselves.
“People are suffering behind closed doors and a lot of people can’t see the effects of long Covid itself.
“I think it’s incredibly important that everybody can speak up now and again when they’re able to share their stories about long Covid in order to really make sure governments take notice.”
The Aberdonian’s plea for action joins many others who are also suffering from the illness calling on the government to do more.
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