Leeds nurse left in 'dark place' by fight to save elderly patients during Covid-19 pandemic transforms health

As the virus became rampant in care homes, Isabel was forced to work tirelessly in order to keep her patients as safe as possible in the face of a global health crisis. She is the matron of elderly care at the Robin Lane Health and Wellbeing Centre, although has been nursing for 34 years and has worked in various roles across the NHS. Although Isabel’s dedication during the pandemic was admirable, the circumstances begin to impact her own health.

"Unfortunately, there was a crisis in care homes,” she said. “We have a high elderly population in Pudsey. My responsibility is to provide medical cover when patients are unwell but also provide proactive care. During Covid, I was working on the frontline supporting the care homes through lockdown.

"We had quite a lot of deaths and eventually, due to Covid in the care home, I was very, very sad working in primary care. It was a very stressful time because this pandemic was something we had never witnessed before.

“It did take its toll, unfortunately. For myself, I took to comfort eating to try and manage that stress. We weren't really taking care of ourselves. We were putting ourselves on the back burner. It left me in quite a dark place when things settled down, with my health. I felt out of condition really, burnt out, a bit frazzled. My mood was low and I had gained quite a lot of weight.”

Isabel found herself unable to fit into any of her clothes and even shunned her social life because she felt “rubbish”.

"I got to the point where I wasn't really shopping,” she said. “I couldn't fit into any of my clothes, I felt tired all the time, I felt quite depressed. I was invited to a function and didn't go because I felt so rubbish. I thought, 'I've been looking after these patients all through Covid, and I'm in the worst shape of my life and don't want to go anywhere'. I was encouraging people to look after themselves yet I was in the worst shape of my life.”

Inspired by women she saw on social media who had got themselves in shape, she decided to embark on a mission to make her own health a priority again. Isabel reached out to personal trainers gym Ultimate Performance, and her trainer Liam Harris helped her to drastically transform her health.

She lost nearly three stone in the transformation process, and also says weight training helped her overcome debilitating post-menopausal symptoms. What makes Isabel’s fitness journey even more impressive is that before linking up with Ultimate Performance, she had never lifted dumbbells or barbells before.

“I was inspired by women who had got themselves into shape,” Isabel explained. “It's about empowering and taking control of your health. That's what inspired me to sign up and do the transformation. It was focused around me as an individual and my goals. I saw people who had gone through the process and thought 'yes, I'm going to give this my best shot'.”

Although her weight dropped, it was the return of Isabel’s confidence that she believes was the most valuable aspect of her transformation.

“I did six months and got my weight down,” she said. “I got my body fat down, I'm back into size eight and ten clothes, I can go into a shop and buy anything, which is a fantastic feeling. The most valuable thing that has come from this is my confidence in the gym. It's a supportive environment. I felt from working with Ultimate Performance that I could go to a mainstream gym.”

More information about Ultimate Performance and their work to support health and fitness is available on their website.