Covid

It has been a long 3 weeks. 

 Sharon took this picture of me just before they took me away to isolation. I was so cold from the fever but I could only have a sheet. When I requested a blanket I was told, "no blanket you have a fever."

I know most people who become infected with Covid 19 will have mild symptoms. Some such as Sharon will have symptoms that make you know this is serious but their immune system kicks into gear and beats it back. then there is the percentage whose immune system doesn't beat it back and that is the story I am sharing today.

Sharon was not feeling well on September 10 and I am thinking this looks like Covid. By Friday morning she asked me to take her up to the hospital. The doctor was of the opinion she had an infection and it was not covid. She was given antibiotics and asked if she wished to be tested for covid. The Doctor did not think she needed to be but since she worked at school they would test her.

Sunday morning early, she was calling the hospital and telling them the antibiotic was not working. She was getting worse. They looked up her records and said, "You are positive for covid." Yea, well I am listening to her make this call and hear the news while my neck hurt so bad I could not sit up. Stomach was queasy and just felt awful. I knew at that point that not only was Sharon positive, so was I.

By 11 am Sunday I was feeling quite a bit better. Monday started the same way. felt awful and weak in the morning and by afternoon thinking, hey this isn't that bad and I will get through it in a few days and then I will be immune. Not a bad deal. Tuesday was a decent day and then I learned to respect the waves.

Wednesday was not a good day. Piercing short term headaches. Stomach off, making food something to be avoided. That lasted through Thursday and by Friday I was back feeling, this thing is beatable, you just have to wait it out. By Friday evening I was just tired. really tired.

Saturday the 19th I could barely get out of bed. I could no longer sleep more than 30 minutes at a time. I was hallucinating and the thought patterns continued if I was awake or asleep. I was running a fever and was keeping it under control as best I could with Ibuprophen. That was the medical advice Sharon had been given.

After that the days begin to run together. By Tuesday my vision had gotten blurry, I could see where capillaries were breaking under my skin. Wednesday morning I drug myself out of the house thinking "Royce you may need to go to the hospital.". When I started coughing up blood, I knew I was in trouble.

4pm on Wednesday, Sharon asked me if I had thought I needed to see a doctor. I had to admit I had and she hustled me off to the walk in clinic. Once again as in Sharon's case I was told, I don't think this is covid. Blood work showed I was anemic, and liver enzymes were not normal. The Doctor sent me home to wait for the test results and her parting words were, "you look like crap." In a later conversation with this doctor she said I do not see patients in as bad shape as you were. I was really concerned about you. 5 days later she certainly remembered me vividly. I always like to leave an impression.

She called Sharon a couple of hours later and told her to take me to the emergency room. It was a good thing Sharon was allowed to be with me at the Doctor's visit and in the emergency room, because she was the one who was answering the questions. I was past that ability. They ran a CT scan to check for blood clots in my lungs and then admitted me to the hospital. 

By this time my oxygen saturation levels were getting pretty low. I would ask each time what they were and if they reached 94%, I thought that was a win and I was doing better. Funny how the nurses would just look at me and not reply but just leave the room. 

Temperature running at times as high as 102.8 and all they would give me is Tylenol. Tylenol doesn't work for me, never has, but no one would listen to me and give me ibuprophen. On Friday a doctor explained to me that no one with covid should take ibuprophen, because it is possible it carried the virus into your cells.

I was released from the hospital and went home, finally able to sleep an hour at a time. That was when the really not fun part began. My lungs were trying to clear out the covid and I would cough and not be able to draw air back into my lungs. There is a panic that sets in when you can not get oxygen. At times I was staggering around the house just trying to breathe.

As I write this 3 weeks after the first symptoms, life is good. I am still tired but I can breathe. It doesn't take much for me to be breathing like I am running when all I am doing is walking slowly or just standing. 

There were a few times when I did not know if I was going to survive. That was OK, I know I have eternal life waiting for me. I also know there were a lot of people praying. An older man stopped me on Friday this week and said, "Royce, I have been praying for you everyday and I bet you would be surprised how many people were praying." I don't even know how he found out I was sick.

I know there were times it was difficult for Sharon. Her only way to get information was to call the hospital and wait for the nurse to get back to her. I was not capable of even calling her to say I was going to be alright. The hospital staff were overworked and dealing with all the extras of isolation only made everything more time consuming. 

I share this story so you have an idea what it is like if covid goes bad on you. I never expected me to be one of those. I was healthy and had no reason to fall apart as I did. 

My advice is very simple. Stay away from anyone who will not wear a mask. The mask you wear will help but it will not protect you from an infectious person who isn't wearing a mask. That is how it got into our home. I am not sure why mask wearing has sort of become a political statement, but I repeat if they won't wear a mask, they don't care if they infect you, endanger your life, and cost you thousands in medical bills. Avoid them like the plague they are.