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Ahmad Ayyad, an athlete who was in a coma for 25 days due to the coronavirus, woke up delirious with a tube in his throat without being able to recognize his body, which one day had amazing strength, defined muscles and weighed 215 pounds, he reviewed. Infobae.
The 40-year-old athlete competed in obstacle courses and participated in basketball and boxing classes
«I woke up and looked at my arms, my legs. My muscles were gone. I was a little scared, where are my legs? Where did my legs go? “He said.
Ayyad is a coronavirus survivor. Doctors placed him in an induced coma for 25 days to save his life.
After two months, Ayyad is still recovering from the effects of the virus. Sometimes she runs out of breath suffering damage to her lung and heart.
However, this terrible situation leaves a lesson for those who believe they are immune and invincible in the face of the pandemic. All people should protect themselves and abide by the standards imposed by the WHO regardless of age or physical condition.
“I am very concerned to see people take this lightly,” the athlete told CNN on Tuesday. “I made it and survived, but I’m still terrified.”
How did you get the virus?
One day Ayyad was heading to a restaurant in a club in Washington DC, while working in his family’s furniture retail business. He was competing in marathons and obstacle courses, taking weekly classes in his favorite sports: basketball and boxing.
The following week, his life fell apart. It started with an overwhelming feeling of weakness that even running up the stairs left him exhausted, as well as walking, driving, cooking and even talking.
Following these symptoms came a cough, sneezing, high fever, loss of energy, appetite, and difficulty breathing.
Although the athlete believed that it was a simple flu, one of his friends who is a medical assistant, insisted that he go to a sanatorium on March 15 where he tested positive for influenza and coronavirus.
His condition continued to worsen, he was placed on a respirator and immediately transferred to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where he was placed in an induced coma.
Most patients with coronavirus who are placed on ventilators are placed in an induced coma, because they are generally too uncomfortable to remain relaxed with a tube down their throats, making them feel that they cannot breathe.
Ayyad became the hospital’s third covid-19 patient and the first to be placed on a ventilator, John Hopkins staff reported.
While doctors were unsure why the athlete was at increased risk, especially because of his good health condition, “there could be factors” that are not yet fully understood, said Dr. Sandra Zaeh who treated Ayyad in hospital and continued. looking after him after he returned home.
“It was extremely emotional. I knew I would be in this completely alone. Then I called my friend and told him to pick up my dog. And that was it. I didn’t know what was to come. He didn’t know if it was the last time he would speak to them. I didn’t know if he was about to die, “said Ayyad.
Ayyad does not know for sure when or where he was exposed to the virus. A week before symptoms began to show, he took a three-day trip to Florida to visit his brother. What could cause it to become infected.
While in the hospital, his family members were tormented because they could lose him without even having a chance to say goodbye.
Now, after almost a month without solid food, Ayyad clearly remembers the time when he returned to eating.
It was apple sauce. Was so happy. That first bite, I felt very satisfying. Well, before I realized that I forgot how to swallow, it’s like I don’t remember how to eat. I had to learn that again. But I won, don’t forget the applesauce, “he said.
It was not just swallowing what the athlete had to learn again, nor was he able to speak or walk. For the next three weeks, each movement took his breath away, raised his heart rate, and left him breathless.
The athlete always tried to cheer up
Every day Ayyad tried something new, started with leg stretches from his hospital bed using the blankets, then went to the side crunches, and finally got out of bed, squatting.
Going home on April 22, Ayyad weighed 60 pounds less, had a blood clot in his left arm, damage to his heart and lungs, and spent the following month struggling to do something without losing his breath.
However, in the following days little by little, he began to regain his weight and muscles.
“He seems to be recovering very well,” said Zaeh, the doctor.
«It was remarkable to go from seeing him at his worst in the ICU, intubated, deeply sedated and with his stomach to help him breathe, to see him at home. I was smiling and talking about how happy I was for a short time jogging and sit outside with the sun on my face, “said Zaeh.
Ayyad is now almost back to normal. As he returns to boxing, exercises every day, plays basketball, and hopefully runs marathons soon enough, he’s still worried about the virus.
“People are acting as if they’re gone, aren’t they. Wear your mask, don’t meet in large groups, take care of yourself and the people around you, “Ayyad advised.
Take it seriously, it’s not a joke, it can kill you, even if you think you are healthy and immune to it. You are not”.
Ayyab experienced it firsthand and said he hopes others don’t have to discover it the way he lived it.
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