Skip to main content

Covid-19 survivors forgotten and struggling

While we should welcome patients recovering from coronavirus, as I did, many are still battling health difficulties as a result of their illness, and we don’t hear their stories often enough, writes CHARLOTTE HUGHES

I MOST likely contracted Covid-19 at my small local Asda store. I didn’t go out to any other place. 

While they had people lining up correctly and had hand sanitiser to use if you wanted to, it wasn’t compulsory and hardly anyone in the store was wearing a mask or protective gear.

As a result of everyone panic-buying, it was crowded, hot and full of people ignoring the rules. 

While I’m writing this account I have to inform you that I wasn’t tested when I first caught it. At the time testing was for essential workers only. 

I did, however, have most of the symptoms and I’m certain that I did have it. 

The public are confused as to what they should do regarding social distancing. The government has been vague, at best, and has acted with such a lack of care that I don’t think we have seen for centuries. 

Let the weaker people die! Let’s use herd immunity to kill them off! It doesn’t matter because they’re worthless to us.

The opposition and government advisers tried to put a stop to this and the government was made to backtrack. However, we know that it is still continuing with its herd immunity plans. 

Thousands of people have died, most likely more than the government’s official figures state. 

Each and every one of those people was somebody’s child, brother, sister, mum, dad, aunt or uncle. 

Every one of them is sadly missed and their loved ones unable to have a proper funeral for them. 

They’re all in my thoughts and I’m lucky that I’m not one of those numbers.

The NHS has done its best to take care of its Covid-19 patients but the government has failed to provide adequate funding for this, and there is a totally inadequate amount of PPE safety clothing. 

The government claimed to have asked several companies for much-needed ventilators but they were the wrong ones — they weren’t safe to use — leaving the doctors and nurses caring for extremely ill patients to do the best that they could do with massively inadequate equipment. 

It isn’t all about death, though. As thousands of people have sadly died, thousands have survived also. Let’s talk about them.

I can talk first hand about my struggles with this awful disease and I can also reiterate friends’ experiences of it. It’s not pleasant, though. 

The number of people who think that you only have the illness for a week or so is astounding.

I’m sat in bed writing this because my condition deteriorated very quickly after developing bacterial pneumonia. 

I had thought that I was recovering, I even took my dog for a short walk on the field behind me. Huzzah, I said in victory, I’ve beaten it, I’ve survived.

Little did I know that I was to relapse very suddenly the next day. 

I was extremely scared, my daughter was extremely worried and if it wasn’t for a kind friend coming to hep me in the middle of the night I might not be here to type this. 

I started to feel extremely unwell very quickly, it came over me like a wave. I muttered something like “I have to got to bed now” and there I stayed for a day until I worsened again.

I phoned my doctor’s surgery and eventually had a telephone consultation. I was prescribed some antibiotics but after waiting for around two-and-a half-days, my condition deteriorated even more.

I was struggling for every breath, moving hurt and I had a very high temperature. Upon seeing the state I was in, my daughter told me to phone 111 for some advice.

Phoning 111 was tough, I was passed from one person to another, so I gave up. 

It was later that night when my daughter insisted that I dialled 999 and I’m so glad that I did. 

They were so patient and understanding and triaged me to an emergency walk-in clinic in my local town at 11.45pm. 

My friend took me and we waited in his car until I was called in. The doctor was wearing full PPE and he looked so nervous, most likely because I was coughing all the time. 

After a conversation with him he diagnosed my condition and gave me some much stronger antibiotics that I’ve never had before. They appear to be working, but time will tell. 

What worries me about this whole situation is that if you have symptoms you are quite rightly told to stay at home and avoid contact with anyone. 

What if you live alone, have no family and friends and aren’t in contact with local services? 

What happens if you deteriorate like I did with a secondary illness because my immune system was broken down by the Covid-19 virus? 

What happens if you don’t have a landline or any credit for your mobile phone? Not everyone has a contract phone. 

What happens if you don’t know anyone who could take you in their car if you can’t drive?

All these what-ifs are being ignored. I’m positive that many people must have died as a result of being on their own with no access to help. 

While many local communities have some excellent help and support groups, if you have no access to them via the telephone or the internet then you’re really stuffed.

I’ve got absolutely no doubt that if I didn’t have my wonderful daughter and my amazing friend I would have tried to sit it out at home so as not to infect anyone else. 

I certainly wouldn’t have been able to get to the emergency clinic and I wouldn’t have got the care that I needed. 

I have to say this again, though, while everyone is quite rightly talking about the deaths no-one is talking about the survivors — the survivors who are struggling to do the most basic tasks, who find walking upstairs near impossible if they don’t rest at every step or two. 

The survivors that have been affected by Covid-19 that badly that it has affected other internal organs and limbs.

The patients who are learning to walk again, who have been on ventilators or oxygen and are now suffering with muscle loss and other related problems. 

While it’s great saying that people have recovered, not enough of their stories are being heard. Their voices are lost, except for the amazing self-help groups on Facebook. 

And here’s the kicker — it’s not known if we develop immunity to Covid-19 after contracting it. 

It’s such a strange and devious virus, it appears to replicate inside your body when you think that you’ve got over it. It weakens the immune system so much that it puts you at risk of catching another illness, or develop a new one like I did.

There are so many symptoms that so many people get that aren’t listed. It’s scary. 

While communities and voluntary organisations are trying to help us and provide support, the government ignores us. 

They want to loosen the social distancing rules while the mortality rates are rising. 

This in itself is scary. Add into the mix the huge number of people who now think that it’s OK to carry on as before. 

So many people think that the quarantine rules are over and they can go out socialising again. 

This is because the government has been unclear about everything. I worry about them and their families. 

I want to shout out loud to everyone: stay indoors! When the second wave comes I fear that it’s going to be worse than the first. 

OWNED BY OUR READERS

We're a reader-owned co-operative, which means you can become part of the paper too by buying shares in the People’s Press Printing Society.

 

 

Become a supporter

Fighting fund

You've Raised:£ 13,288
We need:£ 4,712
3 Days remaining
Donate today