“Real people. Real stories. Real Hope.”
John, 55, first had Covid in November 2021, “From the minute I had the positive PCR I started feeling really fatigued and it's never gone away. It did improve a little bit, but then I got it again in April ‘22 and that knocked me back and I’ve not really had any improvement since unfortunately.
Read MoreHattie caught Covid-19 when she was in hospital in December 2020. It was a couple of months before she realised that the pain, brain fog and exhaustion that she was experiencing, was Long Covid. Hattie got some useful tips from the hospital Occupational Health team, about breathing techniques, how to manage her energy, and lifestyle management. They suggested that she try the online Hope Programme for people with Long Covid. Hattie registered for the next course, which started a few weeks later.
Read MoreFirefighter Keith contracted Covid in August 2021. “I lost a week of my life and a stone and a half in weight” Keith reflects. Three months later, still off work, he was diagnosed with Long Covid. But, as Keith’s symptoms slowly started to improve, he went back to the gym, to get fit again for his return to work.
Read MoreSarah was diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) 20 years ago. She found very little help or support was available at the time, either from the medical professions or voluntary sector. With the only treatment that she was offered causing Sarah highly unpleasant side-effects, she couldn’t find any support groups.
Read MoreFran was diagnosed with PCOS around 20 years ago and lives with this and other long-term health conditions. With a demanding full-time job and three children, a positive attitude has already helped her to deal with these, alone.
Read More“I was angry in life” she remembers. “I felt lost. IIH is ‘idiopathic’ – there aren’t any answers, no reason for it. Nobody understands what you’re going through. There was no-one who could really relate to the situation I was in. I was angry with the world.”
Read More“I had been a carer for probably as far back as I can remember”. Mike grew up in London. His father has muscular dystrophy and his mother has mental and physical health issues. Mike became a life-long carer, eventually working for the Carer's Trust in Coventry and Warwickshire.
Read MoreGoing on the course has changed Ann’s role as a carer and how she thinks about the world – she was previously overwhelmed by the practicalities, particularly when crises inevitably happen. She has learned to recognise that she can’t put everything right and needs to be more realistic: “I’m reframing how I see myself. I have more compassion for myself”. Hope has helped Ann to step back and involve her son in his own care more.
Read MoreTÜnde was diagnosed with Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) around a year before starting the Hope Programme. She had just been trying to deal with all her symptoms and appointments. TÜnde heard about the course from support group IIH UK “I wanted to find out what I can do to cope better” she says. “How should I do things differently?”
Read MoreNaomi was newly diagnosed with IIH and was still getting used to her medication, when she heard about the Hope Programme from IIH-UK via their Facebook group. Having never heard of IIH before her diagnosis, Naomi says that living with the condition “was quite an eye-opener – it was a whole new world out there for me”. She was actively looking for more information, support and to learn from other people with IIH.
Read MoreBecky has a child with IIH (Idiopathic intracranial hypertension). Before she went on the online Hope course for Parents of children with IIH, Becky says she was “struggling with hospitals, medications, constantly - hour-by-hour, day-by-day. It’s hard to plan things. It was getting me down.” She found out about the course on the IIH UK National Charity’s Facebook page* and put her name down.
Read MoreSteven, 38, tested positive for Covid-19 in November 2021. His only symptoms for the first 10 days were the loss of his senses of taste and smell – so he rang his boss to say he’d be back at work. “On Day 11, I woke up in hospital” Steven recalls.
Read MoreThe Covid-19 pandemic has hit Heather hard, before she joined the Hope Programme for Long-term conditions. She was working in a bank and shielding with her immune-compromised daughter, when her employer cut her hours.
Read MoreSteve had a difficult year prior to starting the Shaw Trust Hope course. A car crash left him and his wife with lasting physical difficulties that still need ongoing treatment.
Read MoreBefore Mavis joined the Hope Programme for people with MS (multiple sclerosis), she had experienced a very difficult year as she was going through the process of being diagnosed, during lockdown.
Read MoreLeighanne has been a full-time mum and carer for her two autistic children since her youngest was born seven years ago.
Read MoreDavid has been caring for around 5 years. He feels that the Hope Programme for Carers in Scotland has added new information to his knowledge about being a carer.
Read MoreSharing this six-week journey with other operational firefighters was a really good way to swap ideas and tips that were working for each of us.
Read MoreScottish Station Commander, Bobby, joined one of our Hope Programmes to learn some new coping strategies to pass on to colleagues – but he says it helped his own mental well-being too.
Read MoreKiana did the Hope Programme for Parents of Autistic Children (New York, USA), after her son was diagnosed with autism in lockdown.
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