Life during the Covid lockdowns
Our Co-Chair, Bekka Henderson, shares how she’s been coping with lockdown and isolation since the pandemic began two years ago.
I’m a hydroceph. I’ve lived with my hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain) since birth. I am deemed to have a life-limiting condition. And after contracting encephalitis at the age of 30 whilst undergoing a revision of my shunt (Hakim Valve) I suffered a stroke or Grand Mal seizure. During the past three years of the pandemic I’m repeatedly asked “You seem to be coping well - how do you remain so cheerful?”
“I have been through all this before, you see”
Well, I have been through this all before, you see. It is not new to me. My immune system has always been compromised. I’m well-versed with having to isolate for long periods – it was 18 months back in the day - and with the need to remain germ-free and to sanitise everything I touch.
I am no way the only person with a background story like this because of a hidden condition. When going to concerts or social events a bunch of us support each other to tackle the social and physical barriers that make these activities harder than for someone with no significant impairment. We think these three years of Covid restrictions and hygiene measures have given the rest of the world a course of Disability Awareness Training!
The way I learnt to support myself more than twenty years ago was to balance time spent in a group with time spent in isolation. Like a gym scenario - one-day-on, one day muscle rest - to build up stamina and strength. So the COVID measures support my natural coping responses; returning home to the safety and solitude of my home base after I’ve been with a group volunteering or attending a course.
When I’m among people in the street or on public transport I can have a panic attack – that’s my natural response when things are beyond my control. I can often feel suffocated. My involuntary response is to hold my breath – I hardly dare to breathe and I limit myself to shallow breaths.
“Isolation to me is not a negative”
Isolation to me is not a negative. I’ve learned to like and be interested in myself. I’m often relieved to stay in and work on my multiple hobbies; crosswords, watching quiz shows and calling out the answers, making mosaics or cushions and rugs.
I love nothing better than my little DIY projects. Building two chests of drawers and a filing cabinet. Using my carpentry and metalwork skills; strengthening my ability to decipher instruction manuals; revising and improving my surroundings.
During Lockdown One I took to making mosaics and learned how to frame them. During Lockdown Two I worked with the rug kits and learned to cook and follow healthy eating plans and rituals.
Throughout all of this I am grateful to be born in a time where digital media is widely available. I use my phone and camera to diarise and track my activities. I’ve always known there would be times when I’d have to isolate for long periods - I knew that from being six months in a hospital bed unable to see outside.
When I do go out I am never without my mobile phone. I photograph my surroundings to help me navigate – I go by landmarks, not maps or street names. I have an extensive bank of photographs and I can use the apps on my phone to make virtual tours of everywhere I have been. I can view one of these virtual tours whenever I like. It keeps me cheerful, viewing familiar places and seeing them through the seasons. And I can do all this without leaving the comfort and warmth of my front room.
