
I was in hospital daily when the UK went into lockdown in March. They’d found an infection in my hand which needed IV antibiotics due to concern it had gone into the bone. It had been there since the op and had been caused by an undissolved stitch. I had an op to remove this and wasn’t allowed to wash my hand for 2 weeks. I was in hospital daily with Covid cases on the rise so unsurprisingly, I used a lot of hand gel during this time!
The IV treatment was painful and invasive and they had trouble getting cannulas in. By the end of the four weeks they had run out of undamaged veins to use. I found this treatment and the further risk of infection massively invasive and stressful. I’ve always been super-careful about hygiene and particularly wary of hospitals and toilets.
I finished the treatment at the end of March and was told the infection had gone. It felt like my ordeal had finally finished and I faced the lockdown in a fragile state. It was later in the year I learnt that things were far from over.
Following lockdown, at the beginning of July, I found myself preparing for my first trip away. I was ordering toilet seat covers and sanitising wipes when my product idea popped into my head. I just wanted to have everything I needed to feel safe to hand when I went into a toilet. As I mentioned, even pre-Covid, toilets were always a thing for me, especially portaloos! I decided to call it Privvi (thanks to my granny who called her loo the Privvy)
Tomorrow I’m going to bring you a video to share some exciting news…