Reigning world surfing champion Tyler Wright has revealed the severity of a battle with chronic fatigue after withdrawing from the season-ending event in Hawaii. The two-time world champion has not competed on tour since illness forced her out of the sixth of the 10 championship events at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa in July, and she still has no clear timeline for recovery.
While fellow Australian Steph Gilmore attempts to clinch a seventh world crown at Maui next week in a title duel with American Lakey Peterson, Wright will be left seeking a wildcard on the tour in 2019 if she is fit enough to compete by then.
“The WSL today announced that I’ve withdrawn from the final event of the year in Maui,” said Wright on Twitter. “Its been 5 months since influenza A prevented me from competing at J’Bay. Since then, I haven’t been able to regain full health and have been diagnosed with post viral syndrome.
“This means I’m tired [a lot], my body aches and my brain hurts – I’m really not much fun to be around! It took me awhile to understand what was going on. There’s no clear timeline for recovery but I’m doing what I can to get back to full physical and mental health.”
Post-viral fatigue describes a form of chronic fatigue syndrome triggered specifically by a virus – in Wright’s case, influenza A. While the causes of CFS – also known asmyalgic encephalomyelitis or ME – are unknown, viral triggers are suspected in many cases.
The main symptom is extreme tiredness. Some people also suffer from sleep problems, muscle pains, problems thinking or concentrating and flu-like symptoms. People often find that doing too much exercise makes them feel worse. Treatments offered by doctors include painkillers and other medications to treat symptoms, together with cognitive behaviour therapy and graded exercise therapy.
Wright said she first became ill while on an overnight safari after travelling to South Africa early to prepare for the J-Bay event and was admitted to hospital in Port Elizabeth through emergency.
“My head was on fire and so was my body,” Wright told the WSL website. “I spent time in the hospital and then came back to J-Bay where I was treated and I stayed close to the medical team.
“I couldn’t travel until my fever broke for 48 hours and I stayed in bed for probably ten days. All up I lost 8kg and at one stage we thought I had pneumonia as well. It’s the sickest I have ever been in my life
“So now, I haven’t been able to shake it and I have been diagnosed with Post-Viral Syndrome from getting influenza A. Now, I am pretty much battling chronic fatigue which is a real challenge. People think it’s just about being tired, and although that has a lot to do with it, there’s more to it than that.
“It’s hard because chronic fatigue is so difficult to treat. I’ve been resting a lot, eating right, taking herbs and reading Harry Potter, which is my new favourite thing. And I try and go for a small swim every day, that’s a highlight for me.”