André Saravia was infected three times while working in a covid intensive care and suffers from a persistent coronavirus
He has had silent heart attacks, has respiratory failure and is unable to work
He asks that the ‘long covid’ be considered an occupational disease in Chile, his country, even if it is an international debate
When André Saravia contracted covid, it seemed normal to him. He worked in an ICU for coronavirus patients in September 2020. Stranger seemed to be testing positive again three months later, in December 2020. That time nothing was so normal: André, a young Chilean, ended up being hospitalized in intensive care for respiratory failure and six months later he still had symptoms. In March 2022 the nurse suffered from covid again and the symptoms did not go away.
André is one of the thousands of people in the world who suffer from persistent covid: symptoms that appeared after having the coronavirus and that do not go away. today again, Two years after her first infection, Saravia feels “exhausted, with respiratory failure, heart problems”. He worked intermittently but was barely able to extend his activity, as the simple act of doing housework is extremely exhausting for him.
On the phone, speaking slowly, André tells NIUS about his daily struggle: “I have to move slowly around the house, do the minimum. But, since I cannot work, nor have I been granted disability benefits, I survive as best I can. I have more courage for nothing I didn’t do it on foot, or at a party. I got infected while working“, he claims.
Symptoms on the rise
The nurse states that the symptoms of persistent covid have added to their subsequent infections. After the second time, he had bradycardia (slow or irregular heartbeat, normally less than 60 beats per minute, which does not allow the blood to oxygenate), respiratory failure, extreme exhaustion, constant pain … “After the third time, I could barely speak comfortably, couldn’t walk, work and 10 days ago I had a silent heart attack again. They suspect I have post covid myocarditis, and that it was produced by the accumulation of different variants in my body, “he says.
Before that André, 29, had to spend a whole year in rehabilitation and, as soon as he got back to work, he was infected again and the symptoms returned. In these 24 months, the young man has created the persistent covid association of Chile and leads a movement that asks the Chilean government to recognize covid as an occupational disease. Or at least be granted compensation or a subsidy for his disability.
“I needed a lot of therapy. My psychiatrist and psychologist agree on this I have the strength and mental stability to work, but I am physically incapable. And that gives me horrible anxiety. I spent a year without smell, with short term memory problems, syncope and I feel abandoned. We toilets gave our lives to save others and now that I need help, the authorities ignore it, “he complains.
