The idea for Steps for PAIS emerged 3 days ago, immediately after a patient organisation was declined to participate in a major national fundraising event. The urgency surrounding Long COVID and other Post-Acute Infection Syndromes (PAIS) was simply not recognised.
Since October 2020 I have been living with Long COVID land have experienced firsthand how profoundly post-infectious illnesses can change a person’s life. Around the world, millions of people now live with similar conditions, which are collectively referred to as Post-Acute Infection Syndromes (PAIS).
At the end of December 2023 and the beginning of January 2024 my own path took another unexpected turn when I suffered from a complex ankle fracture and shortly afterwards a complex humerus fracture, both requiring surgery. Recovery from the ankle injury has now reached a maximum point, and I have been advised to have the plates and screw in my ankle removed.
The current plan is to undergo that surgery in January 2027. The rehabilitation period afterwards is expected to take around eight weeks. This creates the opportunity to walk the Camino in April 2027.
The Camino has fascinated me since my twenties. At the time, a colleague recommended that I read the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Afterwards I discovered his book The Pilgrimage, in which he describes his own journey to Santiago de Compostela. The idea of that walk stayed with me over the years.
Walking the Portuguese Coastal Camino – approximately 270 kilometres from Porto to Santiago de Compostela – has gradually grown into something more than a personal goal. It is a way to raise awareness for Long COVID and PAIS, and to support organisations working towards peer support, patient advocacy, greater recognition, research and improved care people living with Long COVID and other Post-Acute Infection Syndromes (PAIS).
This is where Steps for PAIS begins.
Follow the progress of this project as it moves towards the Camino in April 2027.