与COVID-19的意外战斗
有未知的潜在医疗状况, 43-year-old father and fiancé 将罗德 of Jackson found his life taking a drastic turn after contracting COVID-19 in February 2021. 发现自己在医院住了一个多月, his story is a true testament to what one can go through following a COVID diagnosis.
Tell Us About the Beginning Stages of Your Course with COVID
“我在2月初感染了新冠病毒. I was coming off of nine days of working at Procter and Gamble, 所以即使我开始感觉很糟糕, 我以为是工作太累了. I passed our temperature checks daily but when I got to work I knew something was not right. My supervisor recommended I go home and monitor my symptoms. From there, I could not eat or get out of bed and had a bad cough and fever. My fiancé tested positive for COVID the next day, so I did a drive-thru test and tested positive. The doctor gave me medications and treatments to take at home, but it did not seem to help.”
你什么时候来医院的?
“随着我的症状加重, 我的未婚妻打电话给她的医生, and they told her if I could not walk or talk that it was time to go to the hospital. I am stubborn, so I insisted on waiting until the next day. The next morning I tried to get out of bed to get something to eat and collapsed. 那时，我同意去医院. When I got to the emergency room, I had to sit at the doors because I could not stand up. A nurse came to get me with a wheelchair and took me back to a room.”
你在COVID监护室的经历是什么?
“When I got to my room, they began taking my vitals and put me on oxygen. 没过多久房间里就挤满了人. 他们在抽我的血, giving me IVs and put a high-flow nasal cannula on me with a mask over it because my oxygen was 53 at that point. The doctor told me it was up to me, but her recommendation was intubation. My only request was to call my fiancé and children to let them know I loved them because, 诚实, 我害怕自己再也醒不过来了. 我至少想有个抗争的机会, 在给我家人打了电话之后, 他们让我睡着了, 我用了10天的呼吸机.”
从呼吸机上下来是什么感觉?
“我患上了他们所说的重症监护室谵妄. It was pretty upsetting that I could not be with my kids. 我被困在医院了, unsure of what day it was and struggling to do simple things like swallowing or talking. It was strange seeing myself because I lost 30 pounds, and my beard was shaved off. Facetime with my fiancé and kids was nice, and the nurses and medical staff were amazing. 我决定留在医院接受住院康复治疗. 我被转移到住院楼休息, recover and get my oxygen use low enough to start the rehab process.”
你通过住院康复的目标是什么?
“My first goal was to be able to pick up my two-year-old. 我的第二个目标是回家的时候不用吸氧. I am a big bowler, so my next goal was to be able to bowl again. 我最后的目标是能再次弹吉他.”
How Did the Therapists Work with You to Achieve These Goals?
“Dr. 猎人 and her team were always very encouraging and creative with the therapies to help reach my goals. They worked to build up my general strength – I never had to use a walker again after my first day. I used a medicine ball to regain my balance for bowling. I used a donated guitar to build strength in my hands again. 因为是春天, I was the first COVID patient in inpatient rehab who walked through the Healing Arts Garden, which was a neat experience and the fresh air helped a lot. 随着时间的推移, I reached most of my goals and passed the evaluations to be discharged from the hospital on Tuesday, 3月9日.”
有什么长期影响吗?
“脑雾很可怕. I did not drive for a long time because we would be driving, 我就会忘记我们要去哪里或者我们在哪里. Sometimes, I do not remember my phone number or what I am doing when going into a room. 我还是很容易累. My oxygen does not drop, but I get winded if I do anything too strenuous. I still have to sleep with oxygen and have some shoulder issues from being turned on the ventilator. 但是，最糟糕的是COVID脑雾.”
Did You Have Any Comorbidities Before Contracting COVID-19?
“我当时并不知道, 但当我被送进医院的时候, 他们发现我有潜在的2型糖尿病. 我有所有的症状——体重减轻, 经常去洗手间, 口渴和视力模糊. I typically work 12 hour days, so it was easy to ignore and look past the signs. Even though many people think they will be fine with COVID and have no comorbidities, they could still have underlying conditions affecting their COVID course. I now tell people to watch how their body reacts to things daily, 如果他们觉得有什么不对劲, 不要固执. 去检查一下.”
What Has Your Life Been Like as You Have Recovered from COVID?
“I have started to get back into bowling, playing guitar and being with my family. I am still terrified about getting sick with COVID again. I try not to go to busy places, and I wear my mask everywhere because it makes me anxious without it. 我第一次去Schnucks的时候, someone behind me in line without a mask began coughing nonstop, 我差点惊恐发作——我无法承受. I recently was fully vaccinated, and all my kids who are able are fully vaccinated. I also post videos on 脸谱网 talking about rises in cases, 疫苗, my experience with COVID and what people can do to slow the spread.”
Is There Anything You Would Like to Add About COVID-19 and Your Experience?
“The week I left the hospital was the week Saint Francis closed the COVID unit. 我是最后一批病人之一. 当我看到这家医院重新开业时，我的心都掉了下来. I used to be one to say getting vaccinated was your choice, but now I am pushing for people to take care of themselves: if you are sick, 呆在家里, 如果你能接种疫苗, 请接种疫苗.”
在我们的 COVID-19页面. To schedule an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine, call 573-381-5958.
