100 days in lockdown - What it's like to be shielding for so long

Family photo

Tuesday marks 100 days since Prime Minister Boris Johnston announced the country would go into lockdown.

For families that had people with pre-existing health conditions they would have to spend nearly the whole time inside their homes. The Bissets from Peebles are one of them.

Eight-year-old Charly was diagnosed with leukaemia and given a bone marrow transplant last summer. Since the middle of March, she -- and her entire family -- have not been allowed outside the house.

They have been shielding in order to protect Charly from contracting coronavirus while her immune system is weak.

Her dad, Mark Bisset, said: "Quite surreal that it's been 100 days already. Some days you're thinking 'is this ever going to end' and other days it just seems time's flown in. It's been 100 days but it was all about keeping this one safe."

"You don't realise how much you miss every day things until you're locked in the house 24/7.

Charly said: "I kind of miss going to the park, nanny and papas, just going for walks up the high-street - I'm missing Greggs as well! Greggs sausage rolls."



Charly was diagnosed with leukaemia last year and given a bone marrow transplant in the summer. But whilst there, she contracted an infection which affected her lungs and was in intensive care on a ventilator for 8 weeks.

She was then admitted hospital with sepsis pneumonia just as Covid-19 began to take hold of the country.

It was a worrying time for her family who were frightened she would catch the virus, and would not be able to fight it.

Charly was diagnosed with leukaemia last year. Credit: Family photo

Mike said: "The whole situations been scary. It's been a constant worry, but as times gone on you just relax a bit more.....I'm not running about with a bottle of detergent in my hand and wiping everything constantly now."

As well as keeping her dad in his place, Charly has found plenty of things to keep everybody entertained.

She said: "We've been playing in our pool when it was hot, we've been doing baking every Friday, And we've had Friday night raves with George Bowie. We all wore onesies apart from dad, had the face paint on, rave face paint on... I'm surprised the neighbours didn't tell us to turn it down. 

It's taught us you don't need everything you think you need. We've had some great laughs and its not been needing money or this or that just spending time together again.

And as some restrictions have been eased, people in the shielding category have now been granted a little more freedom...and for Charly, things are certainly looking up.