Yahoo News Former NHS scientist who contracted long Covid launches Cornwall acupuncture business
A former NHS biomedical scientist from Cornwall who contracted long Covid and now suffers from ME is hoping to change perceptions of the disease after launching her own business.
Nicki Jannaway, who lives in Penzance, worked for 25 years in the NHS including as a lead transfusion practitioner and a service manager for theatres and recovery at Royal Cornwall Hospital. But in 2018 she caught pneumonia and had post-viral fatigue for six months. She finally started to feel better by Christmas 2019 but in March 2020 she tested positive for Covid-19.
“I couldn’t breathe. it was like someone had pulled a plug and my energy had just vanished, and I started slurring my words. I was at work and I couldn’t drive home; I had to sleep in my car halfway home,” she said. Nicki, who is also a surf coach, was subsequently diagnosed with long Covid which left her bed bound and housebound. After much soul searching, and with discussion and support from her manager, she decided the NHS was no longer a viable place to work.
But she didn't want to give up and do nothing. Nicki had already done some acupuncture self-study and decided to make this her career instead. She also wanted to learn about the movement technique Feldenkrais Method after finding a teacher who taught the approach. “It helped me with long-Covid breathing problems,” she told BusinessLive. “I am currently halfway through my Feldenkrais Method training.”
Nicki has since graduated as an acupuncturist with a diploma and launched her business Second Space Acupuncture this year. She currently works from Clarence House Therapy Centre in Penzance, but is planning to build her own studio at home in the next few years. “I have gone through stages of grieving who I used to be,” she said. “I used to go surfing or run through the jungles of Costa Rica so as well as being very poorly, emotionally it’s been really hard.
“I also have ME and a lot of people don’t believe it and think it’s in your head, which can make it difficult to deal with. Acupuncture is not a cure, but I found it helped me. And I hope to help other people if I can.”
