It was a routine Sunday morning for me, getting up early and finishing the rounds. But this mild headache had worried me. Chalking it up to being on an empty stomach for the past 12 hours, I moved on. The cog-wheels never stopped and was thinking of all the worst case scenarios except “the ONE”! Later that day I hear that my boss was sick and I was expected to manage the clinic for the foreseeable future. I think the creeping complacency about the pandemic didn’t register in my brain, but all this just might be the beginning of the end for me. As healthcare professionals we assume that we are less likely to be diseased. This turned out to be the “the-one-that-shall-not-be-named”. The next morning the rapid antigen test turned positive before I could say “oh damn!”. Even though I was feeling well, I was strongly advised to choose hospital admission over home-isolation, and the plan was to continue the Faviparivir, multivitamins and other supportive measures. (premonition on my admins part, I guess)
The rapid progression from being completely healthy to writhing on a hospital bed in span of a few hour was something, I had never experience or do I want anyone else to ever experience. I think I was never this wrong in my clinical perception that even before I had the time to comprehend I had full blown COVID19 symptoms. Even though I might sound melodramatic, the feeling of helplessness and despair was unparalleled. With all the complications that I’ve seen people go through and treat, SARS-COV2 is no joke. The mild tingling in my feet, maybe it’s Acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP) secondary to COVID19 or my short and shallow breaths, Pulmonary complication or the headache and myalgia, encephalomyelitis secondary to COVID19. On that Tuesday afternoon, I felt everything flash in front of my eyes. Even though I knew these were rare but my brain couldn’t stop thinking. While I writhing away, I get a call from my mom, who was always critical of everything I ever did and gave me the most comforting phone call ever, which brought me to tears and incidentally stopped having all the crappy feeling. Luckily, I received the loading dose of Inj. Remdesivir 200mg, which helped me immensely with the physical symptoms.
The treatment regimen was pretty well optimized and had all the precautionary measures. Vitamin C 500mg, t.i.d, Elemental Zinc 50mg, o.d, Paracetamol 650mg, t.i.d, Ecospirin 75mg, o.d, SubQ Enoxaparin 40mg, o.d, I.V Dexamethasone 8mg, o.d, and I.V Remdesivir 100mg, o.d. Supportive measures like stream inhalation Q2hourly and PRN, adequate hydration and high protein diet was provided. I feel grateful to my ICU doctors and staff in making my stay pleasant and never made me feel like a patient. Feels like I owe a part of me something to them now.
I’m currently discharged for home isolation, until next week and advised to take Rivaroxaban to prevent complications, as my D-dimer, S. Ferritin and S. Uric Acid were altered. Advised to contact them ASAP in the sign of trouble (and not be a hero!). Follow up in a weeks time with the blood work: CBC, RFT, LFT, D-Dimer, ESR, CRP, S. Ferritin and S. Uric Acid. Hope this is the last of my dreaded personal experience with COVID19.
Now I need to make sure I get back to work ASAP, I’m boredAF!
– Pt ID. MYS-27362