Today we have a Special Guest in my blog: my wife!
Buckle up and enjoy her story 🙂
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Nobody could imagine that one day, out of the blue, a virus would have changed our lives. A little entity which is so hard to see but so powerful to be a threat and a challenge for the whole World.
Governments had to rule restrictions and people was forced to stay home: no school, no work, no sport, no routine… Actually, humans are resilient, and they invented online school, online work and online sport, but get together and parties online are not as fun as the old fashion ones…
So be aware not to be infected: wash your hand and do not breathe! Every contact can be a danger and you must look out!
But… what happens if you do get infected?
Well, getting infected is like gaming, it is betting on your own life. You can be lucky and beat the virus or you can die… people die every single day. In Italy as we speak, almost one thousand people die of covid every day.
If you are old, if you have another disease, your odds are low and it is probably better not to risk. If you are young on the other hand, the chances to recover without too much trouble are high and you might also get the virus and beat it without even noticing.
If you are my age, between 40 and 50, you should not risk… you might get over the infection relatively quickly but it is not for granted.
There is also a possibility that the virus leaves you with some weird left-over symptoms like heaviness on your chest, chronical fatigue, or sudden brain fog.
If you are a teenager, once you are over the infection, you have gained the superpower of the immunity: you don’t care of the infection anymore! You can go out with no mask, kiss your friends, and play basketball with no fear! You are immune and all you can think is that you really deserve a special pass to travel abroad on empty planes to go everywhere you wish!
If you are my age, it really all depends on your odds: in many Countries, like in Italy, every day you read stories of man and women that passed away because of covid. On the newspaper you can read their stories and look at their faces. They died alone and many of them got infected while doing their job: nurses or doctors who fought the virus until it got them. Some of them were feeling better, but then, all of a sudden, their life just faded away: no more oxygen in their lungs, no more life.
If you are lucky and you get over the virus like a teenager, you would feel powerful and blessed.
But chances are that you do not recover completely. You feel better but not quite right… something is still not good. What do you do then?
You call the doctor, but they can’t check you: you have (or had?) covid so they won’t allow you in the clinic.
But you do need assistance! You need someone to check your lungs and tell you what to do… when would you be allowed to touch your husband again? To hug your son?
You call the hot line and they say that you have to talk to the doctor… a never ending loop that scares and leaves you in a weird limbo where you are not sick nor well, you don’t know if you are still a danger for your older neighbor and how long your condition would last. You don’t even know what your condition is because the doctor won’t check you and the nurse says that you can only go to the hospital if you are blue for the lack of oxygen.
Before you start panicking, if you are lucky and very persistent, you manage to talk with the right doctor: one that feels you, understands your pain and your worry, listen to your questions and works to find the answer.
Today I was lucky, and I met (over the phone) this doctor. It is a lady who retired some time ago, but she offered help in this moment of crisis. It is a Doctor with a capital “D”, open to listen and helping with a solution.
Because yes: the solution exists! The hospital has a covid center which is super organized. They have special rooms with specialized doctors that serve all day to check covid patients like me! They don’t need you to wait until you are close to your last breathe! They are there to check you when you feel you need them. They are granting your right to be healthy and cared.
They measure all the parameters and check your lungs. They explain that this condition can last months and that it is not over: it is really important now that I don’t get other viruses or bacterial infections. My body is weak, and my lungs compromised.
They explain that I am not a danger anymore: I can touch my husband and hug him and my son. I can slowly start my life again, taking care and resting whenever I need.
I felt scared and alone, but I was not. I had help from the government, but the nurse and the other doctor my husband called last week when I was in pain did not know or did not want to investigate and this is not right.
I was lucky today because I found help from a Doctor with a big heart and now I am telling you: keep asking! You are not alone!
And trust me: do not play with your odds… stay safe and keep your distance. Do whatever you can to avoid the infection.
And if you get it then play your game… it can happen that you fully recover as a teenager and you can claim your virus pass.
p.s.
If you have kids in school and the school send them home keep them isolated. I had to comfort my daughter that was feeling weird, sad, and scared and that was my vulnerability. I would probably do it again, but this was how I got infected and I feel lucky that I am still here to tell my story.
Susy
lukkasbru 