Alleviation Allies for Alicia

Hey.

My name is Karina Gonzalez and I'm fundraising to help alleviate the stress and burden felt, by my dear friend, ALICIA NEWNHAM.

We've all been affected by Covid 19 in some way. Either by lockdowns, testing positive or disruptions to school, work and having to wear uncomfortable masks. But for Alicia and her loving family, life as they know it has been turned upside down.

For over 5 months now, Alicia has been suffering from Long COVID. Alicia had tested positive for Covid but never really recovered.

Long COVID is defined by the World Health Organisation as:

An illness that occurs in people who have a history of probable or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection; usually within 3 months from the onset of COVID-19, with symptoms and effects that last for at least 2 months.

There is no test for long COVID. Diagnosing it means doctors have to rule out other conditions with similar symptoms. These symptoms, can be mild or severe and people can experience one, or like Alicia, all of them.

Some of these are; fatigue, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, depression, anxiety, memory, concentration or sleep problems, persistent cough, chest pain, difficulty speaking, loss of smell or taste and fever. Recent studies show that there are 62 symptoms that sufferers can experience. 

Alicia has 3 beautiful sons and an amazing and very supportive husband, Mark.

Alicia is self-employed and hasn't been able to work. Mark already had a second job but has had to increase his hours, which doesn't leave much time for taking care of Alicia, let alone taking care of the overall running of the house, taking care of the boys who are heavily into sports especially basketball, involving training on weekdays, games on the weekend, school drop offs, pick ups, driving Alicia to medical appointments and finally...time for himself. Actually, scratch that, I don't think Mark knows what that means any more but that's what we do when we love unconditionally and why this cause is so important. 

Alicia is now using a wheelchair for the very few times she leaves the house. This is to attend medical appointments and she becomes exhausted just getting in and out of the car and the walk from the car to the doctor's surgery door, because the main symptoms she battles with, is fatigue. She has been tested for other illnesses and diseases, which have all come back negative and doctors cannot give her an end date as they simply don't know!

I think what saddens Alicia the most, is the inability to be a mum, or at least, to be the mum she was.... attentive, supportive, creative, loving and fun. As a mum myself, I can totally sympathise, but as her friend, I'm concerned about the stress and burden she feels when it comes to money and paying the never ending bills and the costs associated with having to attend different doctors who want to conduct different tests.

With the increase in the cost of living, I'm aware of how hard it is to let go of money these days but Alicia has been there for me in tough times, I won't let her down now.

So please, help me in my mission to Alleviate her stress, Alleviate the burden... join my Allied Force to raise funds for ALICIA ♡