1.5 months for mechanical ventilation
The 55-year-old Muscovite Pyotr Kuznetsov was diagnosed with COVID-19 in May.
At first, according to him, shortness of breath appeared, then the temperature began to rise.
A few days later, he called an ambulance.
“At the hospital, I was diagnosed with a coronavirus and 50% of lung damage,” Kuznetsov recalls.
- At first I was in an ordinary ward.
But I got worse and worse.
And then resuscitation, coma, and a month and a half on a ventilator. "
According to Kuznetsov, while on the ventilator, he saw hallucinations.
“They were so lively, bright and even very beautiful,” he says.
- In ordinary life, I never remembered dreams, but I remember hallucinations well.
I have been “passed out” in Africa, on a ship on the high seas, and in Moscow hospitals. "
Later, doctors told Kuznetsov that the damage to his lungs was 100%, and he was actually pulled out of the afterlife.
“When I came to, I had to stay in intensive care for several more days.
Although there were screens in the ward, I still saw how people were rolled up or rolled out, the neighbors on the bed were constantly changing.
I heard how doctors constantly pumped out someone, someone died.
An unpleasant impression, ”says Peter.
For a month and a half on mechanical ventilation, Kuznetsov lost about 30 kilograms of body weight, and due to the immobilization of the body, the muscles began to atrophy.
“And the most important thing is fear.
I was afraid that I would not be able to breathe on my own without mechanical ventilation.
I was afraid that I could not call anyone for help, because I could only speak in whispers.
Even a psychologist worked with me, ”the man explains.
After being discharged from the hospital, he spent two more months in a rehabilitation center, where he underwent physiotherapy, exercise therapy and massages.
Now Kuznetsov is at home, but he still has not fully recovered.
“There is still not so much strength as it was before the illness.
Sometimes even using a toothbrush is difficult.
The legs and arms are still "poorly obedient".
After COVID-19, the central nervous system suffered, and its recovery will take up to two years, says Peter.
"But the weight is already back to normal, although most of the clothes are still large."
He notes that after an illness he had a feeling of lack of air.
“It's like being after a marathon running when it's hard to catch your breath.
Sometimes this state begins just after a conversation or a small emotional outburst.
But the pulse is normal.
This is something more psychological, ”explains Peter.
Now he is waiting for the covid vaccination to begin.
“I will give the vaccine.
I know it won't get any worse.
And I don’t want to get sick a second time, ”he says.
I got sick again
Peter's worries about the possibility of re-infection are not unfounded.
35-year-old Muscovite Alexander Kolotilov is sick for the second time.
© Photo from personal archive
For the first time, Kolotilov suffered from COVID-19 this summer.
Before going to work after self-isolation, he took tests for coronavirus, and the result was positive.
According to Kolotilov, he was treated at home.
He had weakness, a dry cough, the temperature did not rise above 38 degrees, but later his voice disappeared.
“In October, my family and I went on vacation to Turkey.
The day before departure from there I felt unwell, my temperature rose, but after the Paracetamol pill everything went away, - says Alexander.
- Upon arrival, I still took a smear for COVID-19, which showed a positive result.
Then I decided to check my diagnosis in another laboratory and passed an express test for the presence of an antigen, which also showed a positive result.
It was such a surprise.
Well, how is it, the second time? "
Doctors, according to Alexander, were also surprised at the re-infection, in the database he has been listed since the summer as recovered.
Kolotilov says that the disease is more severe again than the first time.
“The whole body hurts, the head is spinning and the chest is pressing, but there is no temperature,” says Alexander.
He notes that the doctors prescribed a new drug for him, and he received it for free, although the drug in the capital's pharmacies costs 12 thousand rubles.
True, so far, according to him, he has not yet felt the results of taking the antiviral drug, but the side effect in the form of pain in the gastrointestinal tract is clearly felt.
“I wear glasses and it’s uncomfortable for me to wear a mask because the glasses fog up.
But it is better not to tempt fate, ”the man advises and adds that you should not neglect the precautions.
Doesn't match the flu
95-year-old veteran of the Great Patriotic War Klavdiya Shcherbakova fell ill with coronavirus at the end of May.
© Clinics of Samara State Medical University
“I did not easily endure the illness, my body burned as if on fire, and after the injections, a severe allergy began, which was accompanied by nausea.
And then I got to intensive care for a week, "says RT Shcherbakova.
According to her, she spent a month in the hospital.
The staff treated her with great respect and care, and she was discharged on June 22 - on the anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
The first days after the illness were the most difficult, the woman recalls.
“I had difficulty getting up on my own, and I still have a slight stiffness in my chest,” says Klavdia Shcherbakova.
The woman is convinced that, first of all, the doctors, whose recommendations she followed, helped her to get back on her feet.
And also faith in God, self-discipline and fortitude acquired during the war years.
“How did we get through the war?
We have not seen any childhood or youth.
From morning till night they stood at the machine at the Maslennikov military plant in Samara and made shells.
Therefore, you need to be patient and self-isolate.
I am sorry that so many young people get sick and die, ”she said.
According to Shcherbakova, coronavirus is one of the most terrible and insidious diseases, which cannot be compared with either the flu or any other "ailment".
Tests failed
A 32-year-old resident of the Moscow region of Lyubertsy Timur Sokolov was diagnosed with COVID-19 in early September.
At the same time, according to him, the coronavirus was not detected in his wife, although she was the first to stop feeling tastes and smells - the test showed a negative result.
“A week later I had the same symptoms as my wife, and then the temperature rose to about 39 degrees.
The ambulance doctors diagnosed sore throat, - says Sokolov.
“The temperature was high for the next week, I couldn’t smell any smells or tastes, but still the tests didn’t show covid.”
When the temperature subsided, Timur again donated blood for antibodies.
And this time, he said, the study showed the presence of IgM and IgG antibodies in the blood.
“This meant that I was still ill, but my immunity had already started to form,” Timur explains.
After recovering, he left for the village, and there he suddenly felt bad again.
“The pressure jumped, there was a cold sweat like hail, the tachycardia was so strong that I couldn't even get to the store.
This lasted for about a month.
And then my brain fog started.
Everything is inhibited, but the body seems to be not mine, ”says Sokolov.
Timur visited several neurologists, performed CT and MRI of the head.
The study showed that his blood vessels were inflamed.
Diagnosis - post-infectious arachnoiditis with cephalgic syndrome.
Recovery will take from 3 to 6 months.
“When I came for an MRI of the head, the doctors asked me: are you after a head injury or after COVID-19?
Then they explained to me that many people who have had coronavirus have a similar situation.
Complication of cerebral vessels, ”Sokolov notes.
He fears that he will not be able to recover.
“And now I don't feel healthy.
It is difficult for me to focus, I cannot play sports, watch TV or play the console, because I immediately start to feel sick and dizzy, - Timur explains. - Sometimes there is weakness in surges.
That is, one day everything is fine, I can even go to the gym, and the next day it is even difficult for me to raise my hand.
Stable every 2-3 days my muscles contract at night, especially my jaw.
And I'm scared that I won't be able to fully recover. "
Timur says he does not understand those who urge not to wear masks.
“Please don't take off your masks.
This way you at least leave yourself a chance.
Most of those who have recovered from COVID-19 easily and say that it is just like SARS and there are no particular consequences.
And there are cases like mine.
Better not to risk it, ”Timur says.