ONE of Scotland’s best-loved children’s authors has revealed how coronavirus has left her unable to write as she fights to regain her health six months on.
Lari Don has penned dozens of books filled with mystery and magic.
But there’s no spell to cure her chest pain, exhaustion and “brain fog” she’s been battling for six months.
The confusion caused by Covid-19 was so acute it caused her to forget the writing she’d done on an upcoming book – and she’s been unable to work since.
And even speaking is now so tough she can only manage a 20 minute conversation before needing a break.
It started with a cough in March, before the nationwide lockdown began. As her symptoms continued, she developed breathing problems, fatigue and a fever, but was advised by NHS 24 that she did not require hospital treatment.
While the case was relatively mild, she says the lasting effects have “wrecked” her life. The Edinburgh author told The National: “I have chest pain and physical exhaustion and I can’t remember things, I can’t focus – you can’t write a novel if you can’t focus. My imagination is still in lockdown.
“I used to be able to stand in front of people at a book festival and talk about Greek myths for 55 minutes without notes. Now I need a script to be able to record a message that says, ‘hello, I’m Lari Don, welcome to the Wigtown Book Festival’.
“I spend most of every day in bed or on the couch. I’ve been reading, but I’m no longer a writer. That’s really scary and really hard to say.”
Don’s work includes picture books for the youngest readers and retellings of classic myths for older readers that tap into
Scotland’s storytelling traditions. The Fabled Beast Chronicles and Spellchasers trilogy offer adventure for older readers.
But despite dreaming up imagined worlds, she finds it hard to believe that coronavirus conspiracy theories have gained ground in the UK, and that so many people now refuse to wear masks or shun social distancing guidelines. As cases continue to rise and leaders consider the imposition of tougher restrictions to stop the spread, Don said: “No one is going to welcome the idea of people being under more restrictions, but people need to take this really seriously.
“We have all got bored of it – I’m bored of it – but the virus does not have fatigue. We can’t let our guard down. I only had a mild case. You don’t have to be hospitalised for this to wreck your life.”
Doctors are so far unable to say why some people recover quickly from Covid-19 and others are left with debilitating symptoms for weeks or months.
Don says she doesn’t want to “frighten people” and that she is “optimistic” that she will make a full recovery. However, medics are unable to tell her when that might be.
She said: “I started to improve a wee bit in June, but that’s when one of the scariest moments happened. I pulled out a manuscript of a novel I had been working on and I couldn’t remember the characters. It was like it had been written by someone else.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel