Runner is now struggling just to walk

Oil and gas engineer and former Scottish Labour candidate Callum O’Dwyer first started showing symptoms on March 23 – the day the UK went into full lockdown.

More than 100 days later, the 28-yearold has been left struggling to walk significant distances and unable to live on his own.

Despite appearing to make an initial recovery 11 days after first feeling feverish, the former keen runner was forced to move back in with his parents in Aberdeen and has been unable to work or return to his own flat for months.

Mr O’Dwyer has praised the help of his own GP.

However, he has also raised concerns about an apparent lack of interest in investigating cases like his own.

He said: “Almost all the symptoms went away except muscle weakness, fatigue, aches and the tightness in my chest and also shortness of breath.

“That just seemed to overtake everything.

“I was even more tired and weak. “I was so weak that I went to pick up a water bottle that was full and I couldn’t – I was struggling to pick that up with two hands.

“It’s a level of muscle weakness and feebleness that I’ve never really experienced before.”

Mr O’Dwyer currently spends hours a day lying down, and sitting up can be a struggle.

“It’s coming to the stage now where I’m concerned about the longterm,” he said.

“I’m trusting in the process, that it will all just work its way through.

However, I am also scared that it takes a very, very long time to get there, or it just doesn’t.”

Picture: Kenny Elrick. Callum O’Dwyer is approaching 100 days of being ill after he contracted Covid-19 in March.