Long Covid took Ben's life away... this is how he got it back

A dad who has been battling long Covid symptoms for three years has urged other sufferers to seek help from the service that changed his life.

Ben Stubbs, 48, from Stockport, enjoyed his job as a painter and decorator before he caught the virus. But after he developed the chronic condition long Covid, he was left 'in a really dark place'.

After receiving NHS support in Greater Manchester, Ben says his life has changed. But it's been a long road to get to this point.

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Within months of contracting Covid, Ben found himself unable to walk upstairs, take the bins out or cook a meal without becoming breathless.

He reached out for help and had a series of physical health checks and tests performed but nothing helped to ease the problem.

Feeling frustrated, confused and hopeless for the future, the dad-of-two became so isolated he wouldn’t leave his home for anything other than a medical appointment.

After the birth of his second child, Ben was relieved to have a new focus and distraction.

But months later, his mental health deteriorated again as his physical condition was preventing him from being as involved as he wanted to be.

“I felt guilty and ashamed that I couldn’t support my family in the way I wanted to,” he said. “I had no energy to do anything. My life as I knew it had been taken away from me. I was in a really dark place.”

In late 2022, Ben was referred to a psychological medicine post-covid service run by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust.

It aims to support people in Greater Manchester who are living with complex physical, emotional and cognitive problems following covid.

He started to see senior cognitive