Jayden Donald went from a fit and healthy teenager who rode his horses almost every day, to being so sick he could hardly sit up after his second bout of COVID-19.
A year later, the 19-year-old talented equestrian has only recently returned to university and to the competitive dressage arena after being diagnosed with long COVID.
“I was flat out walking,” the University of Southern Queensland engineering student says at his family’s picturesque property at Haigslea, about 50 kilometres west of Brisbane.
“You go from going to uni every day, seeing your mates, having a bit of fun, and saying, ‘oh I want to go for dinner at the pub one night’ to ‘oh, I can’t, I’m stuck at home’.'” His symptoms included exhaustion so severe he was barely able to trudge from one end of his house to the other, brain fog, headaches, abnormally low blood pressure and a high heart rate.