 Since falling ill just before Epic I have not been back to my normal healthy self.
What initially seemed like just normal flu symptoms, turned out to be something a bit more serious and complicated. Being knocked down after my second attempt to get back to training, my coach, Dr Jeroen Swart suspected something more serious and advised that I have blood tests done and specifically test for Coxsackie. Unfortunately the test results came back positive with a Coxsackie B viral infection. This virus attacks the heart and organs and can cause various other complications if managed incorrectly. My biggest concern is Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) which can put me off the bike for up to 6 months or cause permanent damage. To get over this virus, I need to give my body the required rest to fight the virus. The problem I had was that I kept on giving myself a timeline and wanted to rush getting back to training and this is not the way to deal with such a virus. Getting doctors appointments and waiting for test results take time, so there is no timeline to this process. My priority now is to get to 100% health again and not to be ready for a specific race. When ever I am 100% healthy, I can look at what would be my next goal. Things seem to be on the mend with my latest blood results showing that the antibody numbers are about 50% down and hopefully my next heart scan will give us a confident all clear to get back to riding my bike. I would like to thank all my team mates and sponsors for their positive attitudes and motivation throughout the last few weeks. It is great and reassuring to know that we still have everyones support even through the tough times when things do not go according to plan, this is after all sport and its about working hard at everything that you can control and dealing positively with that which you can not control.
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