This is taken from someone local to me, read on....
This will be a long read but worth it for those who don’t believe Coronavirus is a real or serious thing.
When I was diagnosed, I swore I didn’t want to tell people or didn’t want people to know. I’m sharing my story for one reason, and one reason only - AWARENESS. I’m getting frustrated with the amount of people that are saying ‘it’s just a flu’ and people that don’t seem worried. I’m a 23 year old that falls under the ‘healthy’ category and I was in a bad way.
I woke up on March 5th with a bit of a cough, and didn’t think much of it, because I was one that didn’t think this was too serious, but as the day went on, I got worse SO fast. By lunch time, I was aching everywhere, my muscles were sore, I had such a severe headache that I couldn’t open my eyes, my temperature was at 39.9 degrees. By dinner time, I was just lying there crying, wondering what was going on. I decided then that I’d stay in the house for the next 7 days. It’s the best thing to do. My symptoms stayed exactly the same for a few days, no change, but I was crying from the minute I got up, until the minute I went to bed. I was sore and no matter how much paracetamol I took, nothing was changing.
Fast forward to March 14th, 9 days after my symptoms started. This was too much. I was now coughing up mucus with blood in it. I had pains across my ribs and chest that were making me so short of breath. When I coughed, these pains were emphasised. I was coughing every minute of the day, and I couldn’t control it. I called NHS 24, pretty much begging for help. I couldn’t move. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Every part of my body hurts. I’m struggling to open my eyes. My temperature is still high, at 39.6. My daughter needs me and I’m struggling. NHS 24 decided the best thing to do would be send a taxi to take me through to Kings Cross in Dundee. I wasn’t allowed in the hospital. We had to drive around the back of the hospital in the taxi. When we got around there, there was a makeshift garage/tent and doctors in masks and aprons. A doctor called me from inside to go through my systems and explain what was going to happen. I was checked out in the back of the car. Temperature, stethoscope etc. My temperature at the hospital was 39.2. They swabbed my nose, it felt as if they’d reached my brain, they went that deep. Before I was sent away, the doctor gave me antibiotics. He said to take them in case it was something else that these would help because they couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong with me. He told me it could be a chest infection. I then left the hospital in the same taxi and the driver brought me home. I went away from the hospital hopeful, thinking to myself ‘it’s just a chest infection’.. although I’ve had chest infections before but they’ve never felt like that.
Tuesday March 17th - I got a phone call with my results - POSITIVE - how!? I had only been out to the shops and hadn’t been around anyone that could possibly have this. This thing must be airborne. This is scary. So, I now need to self isolate for a further 7 days at least. So does everyone I’ve been around. This is day 13 of self isolation in total, so far.
I can tell you Coronavirus is bad, it ruined me and I’m not surprised some people’s bodies can’t cope with it and they’re dying. There were times I was saying that I thought I was going to die. I understand it now. It’s definitely as bad, if not worse, than the news is making it out to be. I was only tested because the symptoms were getting worse and weren’t going away and my breathing was becoming a concern.
Most of my symptoms have died down now. I am feeling better, but I’m still not 100%. I don’t know when I’ll leave the house again.
PLEASE follow NHS guidelines!!! If you’ve got ANY symptoms, stay in the house. Don’t go out. Don’t risk passing this on to someone who’s body wouldn’t cope with it. Please stop down playing this. The guidelines are in place for a reason. I really didn’t want people to know about this, but I feel like with so many people’s attitudes towards it, they need to understand how serious it is.
