I was sitting in my office at work on what felt like an ordinary Tuesday after a bank holiday weekend.

On this particular day I had the space all to myself, not realising at the time how lucky I was to have that. It was about 4pm when I started to feel incredibly lethargic. My energy was shot, and my body was shivering. Despite the shivers, which one would often associate with simply being cold, my body started burning up, and I felt sharp pains through my chest.

My stomach was so bloated, it felt like it was about to rip open. I sat there with it, trying to distract myself with just about anything. It didn’t work, and on this day, the carpet outside my office was being cleaned, blocking my usual toilet. I knew I was about to be sick, and it got more and more intense until I knew I wouldn’t make it up the three flights of stairs to the nearest toilet.

In the moment, I grabbed my empty coffee cup and filled it up. Still, afterwards, it didn’t feel quite done, but eventually it was time to pack up and go. I boarded my bus, which would take 1½ hours, terrified I would get sick on the bus – or, worse, have an accident the other way.

For the entire journey I sat there with my jacket over me, shivering and burning up as the cool air from the fan came down, and felt constant sharp pains and warmth burning through my body.