“My daily life in the hospital was reduced to the next breath,” said Hector. How am I going to inspire next time? It didn’t go any further. ” Admitted in the middle of the night to Morges hospital, the 45-year-old Vaudois confessed “not to have a treating doctor since his 10 years”. Of solid constitution, it was however struck down by the Covid-19, until considering the worst. Restored, he tells of a week of anxiety, on the verge of suffocation.
From mild cough to intensive care
“Before that, I kept saying if you had to get some kind of big flu, I would get it, and there you go,” said Hector. A few days after his discharge from the hospital, his breath is still short on the phone. “That of an obese hippopotamus,” he jokes. But that’s nothing compared to what he’s been through the week before. “To say that only the little old people are in danger does not represent the reality on the ground,” said the survivor. The 30-55 year olds, there are also quite a few. Surely I am not dead. But the experience I had, I do not wish it on anyone. ” There she is.
The scientific point on the coronavirus
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In mid-March, Hector begins to cough. A little, then more and more. In parallel, its temperature takes the elevator: until reaching 39.5. He first contacted the coronavirus emergency line, which told him to stay at home. It must be said that he tends to put his symptoms into perspective. Not one to feel sorry for himself, Hector has no health problems, does not go to the doctor and does not take medicine. Never.
Given the worsening of his symptoms, he still swallows a few Dafalgan at fixed times to keep his fever under control. But that is no longer enough. He calls the emergency line a second time and indicates that his heart is racing. Once again, he is told to stay at home. “In fact, it was not my heart,” he said. I was suffocating. ” After almost a week without sleep, he manages to drive to the hospital in the middle of the night – exhausted.
“Like waiting in an oven”
“The days and nights that followed my care were terrible. I felt like I was stuck. As in a hot solarium. And I was suffocating. Second after second, after second. ” For three full days, he barely breathes. Since his oxygenation rate is considered “acceptable”, however, he escapes intubation and has simple “non-intrusive ventilation”. But every moment is a struggle and the minutes are like hours. Only.
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“When I got home, he was literally suffocating”
“The days were long but there were nursing staff who came to see me: I was surrounded. The nights were hell. Just wait in the oven, suffocate. ” He urinates in a tube, saddles in a pierced chair next to his bed. Unable to speak – he is rushed into a coughing spell on each attempt -, he communicates a little by messages with his relatives (any visit is prohibited). But the screen hurts his head – “And I already had the impression that it was between two pieces of iron which were tapped with an anvil,” he said. The struggle to breathe takes up most of his time. Waiting for the end of the tunnel.
Consider death
His condition is unfortunately not improving. And, for the first time, Hector is considering his own epilogue. “I’m not afraid, but there I was afraid. In twenty-four hours, everything changed. We realize that we are nothing. I thought maybe I was going to leave. ” Especially since the miracle cure does not exist. “It would be reassuring to be able to fight. But there is no treatment. Doctors tell you to wait until the immune system does its job. But it’s not something you can get a grip on. We find ourselves totally helpless. Hope. ”
The folder: this virus that is destroying the world
After three days on the verge of suffocation, the patient begins to seriously worry the doctors. They then offered to try the only known weapon against the virus: the controversial chloroquine. Exhausted, he immediately accepted. It will be his salvation. “In thirty-six hours, I was recovered,” he recalls. A real miracle. I know the effectiveness of the drug has not yet been proven. But for me, given the timing, I can hardly believe it didn’t help me. “
“It’s not a flu”
Now back home, he recovers. Step by step. Hopefully, he shouldn’t have any lung damage. As for the psychological scars, Hector believes that for him “it will be fine, but that others may not get away unscathed”. However, he admits that he is still ringing. “It is not a flu,” he said. It’s extremely violent, it takes you suddenly, and the fall is dizzying. ” This Wednesday, he was able to walk for an hour on his own at an old man’s pace. A success. “It’s thanks to the doctors. They are extraordinary. Don’t forget to say it in the text. ” As for the causes of its contagion, he is not sure. But the culprit, he thinks, would be a simple handshake.
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