I am running the 2024 EMF 10k with my daughter, Louise, for Compass Therapy Support Community. Compass means a lot to Louise and played a vital role in reducing her long Covid symptoms, helping her longer term return to full time work and once more enjoying a good quality of life. So despite my two metal hips and a dodgy back this was a promise we made to each other during a difficult period with Long Covid.

Here is Louise’s story:

Compass Therapy Centre is a charity close to my heart as they were invaluable to my recovery process from Long Covid. In May 2020 I became ill with covid-19 and just didn’t get better. I had severe breathlessness, debilitating fatigue and headaches, dizziness and palpitations, and intense brain fog, among many other symptoms. This resulted in me being bed-bound for months, unable to work for a substantial period of time and had very little quality of life. In October 2021, an article was released about the potential benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in Long Covid. I got in contact with Compass Therapy Centre and was lucky enough to get booked in straight away (as it became overwhelmingly busy soon after!) for intensive sessions. By the end of my protocol I felt like a different person to the one I’d know for the past 18 months - the fatigue had lessened, headaches improved and brain fog lightened. I continued to attend twice weekly for maintenance sessions, and continued to see the benefits. I was able to sit my professional exams, which I'd had to postpone multiple times, and shortly after, I managed to return to work at 3 hours a week. From December 2021 until August 2023 I completed a very slow phased return to work, while continuing to receive maintenance oxygen therapy. Whilst I am not yet 100% and I still need to manage my energy levels carefully, I am working full time and I am able to live a full, enjoyably life again! I genuinely believe this progress is down to having access to hyperbaric oxygen therapy and I will be forever grateful.

During the early Long Covid days, on a particularly difficult one, my dad told he believed that I would get better and one day we would run a 10km race together. Before getting Long Covid I was a keen runner, but at the time this felt a million miles away. We have both vividly remembered this conversation since and have decided to run the EMF 10km together on 25th May. We want to raise money for Compass Therapy Centre while doing this, as we are so grateful for the charity and want to give something back.

Compass Therapy Centre are a charity who specialise in supporting people living with neurological conditions and provide a range of therapeutic services including physiotherapy and rehabilitation, as well as hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Through donations, they are able to provide these invaluable services at a heavily subsidised rate, making them far more accessible to the wider community. The services they provide are a lifeline to so many people. The team are always so kind and friendly, and help to brighten up the darkest of days. Getting to this point in my journey would not have been possible without Compass Therapy Centre and they are helping so many others in the same way every day. I am so grateful for whatever pennies you can spare to donate to this incredible charity - thank you.