My age is 26 and I just recovered from the novel Coronavirus or Covid-19. And I have a message for all the young people out there, ‘You are not invincible’. I am here today to share my story after a long battle with the deadly virus which lasted for more than two weeks and ‘I’ am still in the process to cope up with normal life.
My normal life had a great share of exercises in the morning, a lot of jogging on the treadmill and then some work-outs. I am not able to get back to that, not only because I am feeling weak, but I still have that shortness
of breath lingering as my lungs are severely damaged! I was healthy even a month ago – now I am undergoing physical therapy to regain my strength. I know a lot of people are still under the belief that ‘I am young and healthy, therefore it would not have any serious effect on me’ or ‘it only affects the elderly’, but let me tell you a truth: obviously from my case and several others I have heard of, that mentality is not always true. I spent two weeks at the hastily set-up military hospital in Daegu, after what started like a cold soared into severe chest pain and trouble breathing. The pain was unbearable, similar to hundreds of needles piercing the lungs! I still remember the night when I could not sleep even for a minute, as I was not able to breathe and sessions of cough were ravaging my night. The temperature of my body was above 103 degree Celsius and severe body ache. Before that night I was at home-isolation since I was checked positive 2 days ago and my fever was not that severe, but that night changed everything. The next morning I was admitted to the hospital and the war began. At the peak of my war against the virus for survival, I was unconscious and was on a ventilator. Whenever I was conscious, the pain used to kill me and I would call the nurse for giving me some relief. At first the doctors were trying to reduce my fever with doses of paracetamol and I was told by them that I would have to fight on my own as there is no medicine for the disease. Then the situations worsened and I was taken to the ICU.
I was frightened, as I could remember my father dying in one such ICU some 4 years ago.
But I was fighting, and my determination was unbreakable that I will see to the end of this.
I just wanted to return to my home, to see my mom again and to pet my little dog. But the end was probably not far, as my condition worsened even more and the doctors told me that my lungs were not working properly and I was to be given ventilation. This might sound very scary now, but at that moment I felt relieved as I was almost unable to breathe and the chest pain was not subsiding even with stronger medications. After that day
I was mostly unconscious. I want to mention here one specific night which changed the game completely. That night suddenly I was awake and it was pitch dark. There was no sound except for the mechanical ups and downs of the ventilator. There was a glass window beside my bed, and it was pitch dark outside too. Suddenly
a flash of light came and slowly the room was filled with light. It was dawn and the sun had risen from the east.
I went to sleep again, but this time with the ray of hope, ray of light. I started to recover from the afternoon. The supportive care started to work. The intruders in my body were retreating and I started to win. In the next three to four days the fever receded. The chest pain was almost gone, but the shortness of breath prevailed. The ventilators were removed and I was transferred to a general bed but in isolation. I wanted to see my mother and I expressed my wish to the doctor who used to visit me twice every day. He was visibly exhausted and so were the nurses. The doctor smiled at my request and told me that I would be free to go back to home by the end of the week and I could see my mother; but not before that. Although I was disappointed, I realized that it would be best to her interest that she should stay at home.
The end of the week was near, the doctors handed me over a set of reports. And then the bad news came along. Some parts of my left lung are severely damaged at the moment and might turn out to be a backlash against my normal daily routine. I was suggested physical therapies and medications and was released the next morning. When I returned home, I saw my mother after 14 days and finally hugged her. Both of us were still wearing masks because I was afraid from the initial stages for her, as she is above 60. Fortunately the prompt test and isolation were very effective to contain the spread in my house. Now that I am out of the hospital and taking rest in my home in isolation, I tell myself that my case could have been more tragic and there was a significant amount of chance that I could have not made it through this.
In December 2019 the Chinese authorities notified the world that a virus was spreading through their communities. In the following months it spread to other countries, with cases doubling within days. This virus is the “Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2”, that causes the disease called COVID19, and that everyone calls Coronavirus. What actually happens when it infects a human and what should we all do? ▼▼ More infos is just a click away ▼▼
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtN-goy9VOY
This was a great interview. I learned more from watching this video than any other?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAk7aX5hksU
Loved this interview and typed up some notes for those interested: Who is most at risk?
On March 24th in Korea 8,961 confirmed cases
– 3,166 recovered with111 deaths
– they found 20 % showed no symptoms
– for those over 80 years old 11.6% death rate
– those in there 70’s the death rate was 6.3%
– and 1.5% in there 60’s | 0.4% in there 50’s
– Korea has one patient die in there 40s & 30s
– so the death rate in there 40s and 30s is 0.1%
and they seen no deaths of people in there teens or twenties.
Can you get the flu again? – Usually people who get the flu, the bodies develop antibodies and they recover
in 2 weeks and don’t get sick again. – For Covid, people who have been discharged are getting the virus again .
How do you get infected? – 3 ways to get infected:
1. Droplet Transfer: Directly being coughed or sneezed on by someone and being with their droplets.
2. Indirect Transfer: When patient coughs or sneezes and the droplets land on keyboards/tables/doorknobs. Virus can survive up to 3-4 days on surfaces like tables/door knobs, and 1 day for fabric/clothes.
3. Direct Transfer: When someone coughs/sneezes on hands and you shake their hands and subsequently touch your face/mouth/eyes etc… Can you get it just by breathing? – Yes, Aerosol Transmission possible in certain cases (i.e. Airborne transmissions) – Airborne transmission likely in densely packed areas. But, in outdoor environments and not in closed spaces, not as likely through airborne transmission. What are the symptoms
of the virus? – Loss in appetite, mild aches, fevers, sore throat, difficulty breathing. – 30% of those who get the virus can’t smell or taste anything – Lose your sense of smell or taste Can you get infected if it’s on skin? –
You get infected by it going through eyes/mouth/nose because there are mucous membranes in those areas. – However, you can’t get the virus from it just being on your skin. That’s why it’s important to wash your hands. How effective is wearing mask? – Very effective. – In the west, not many people wear masks which is odd.
The US Surgeon General and WHO recommend people not to wear masks, but he disagrees. Wearing mask is extremely effective. – They probably said that so medical ppl. can have more masks and normal people stop hoarding. – If everyone wears masks, there will be less infections in general. WHO encourages normal people not to wear masks. But in Asia, because of cultural differences, they encourage ppl to wear masks. – As a result, US/Europe spreading much faster than Asia did. If it gets warmer, will the virus go away?
Hard to predict, but won’t go away quickly. – Several scenarios: –
1st Scenario: Covid ends like SARS did when it got warmer. SARS started in Nov 2002 and ended July 2003. But, back then people travelled less and infection was much smaller (mostly Asia + Canada only).
For Covid-19, IF the whole world cooperates, it can end by July/August 2020 and it won’t infect people again.
– However, only 10% probability this may come true. –
2nd scenario: Covid=19 stays in the summer and it’ll spread to southern hemisphere when it’s their winter
and it’ll come back again in our winter.
– Just like regular flu cycle. –
3rd scenario: we develop a vaccine and put a end to it once and for all. But this scenario is difficult to achieve. – Inventing a new vaccine usually takes 10-15 years and costs US$800M. Covid-19 is only 121 days old.
Doctors have only had 2 months to understand their DNA structure so far. –
At fastest, IF everything goes smoothly (big if), and it’ll take 18 months if all goes well to develop vaccine. – However, even if US / China develops a vaccine, would they share the vaccine?
Also, it’ll be impossible for U.S. with 329 million population to vaccinate everyone.
It becomes a choice of priority. Who gets the cure first? What cures are being used now?
Best thing we can do is “drug repurposing”: Try to find a drug that’s being used to treat another disease that can also be effective for Covid-19. –
Ex. A drug that is used for Malaria was found to be somewhat effective in treating Covid-19 and used for critical patients right now. – Another way: – Take the blood of patients who recovered and use the antibodies in the blood to give to critical patients.
So recovered people should donate their bloods if they can. Any last comments? – Currently, doctors working
2 months nonstop and very worn out. Their bodies are tired as a result so they can catch the virus from patients more easily. They are more vulnerable than normal people. Last advice to people in teens, 20s, 30s? – You may be fine, but if you spread to an elderly family member, it could be fatal. – Wear mask. Socially distance.
You need to protect yourself so you can protect your family.
Watch the Second Interview with Prof. Woo Joo – Kim Here!!
Dr. Jerome Kim is a gifted communicator and the perfect person to interview, honestly, Stephen’s questions make what he says way better though. It is so refreshing to get trustworthy, non-politicized information.
Dr. Kim is the Director General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), for sharing his expert insight on the development of a vaccine for COVID-19. Visit IVI’s website for more information: https://www.ivi.int 0:47 Dr Jerome Kim 2:51 SARS-1 vs COVID-19 4:23 What is a Vaccine? 9:15 Time to Develop a Vaccine 9:39 HIV vs COVID-19 14:47 Vaccine Cost/Timeline 27:02 Which CV Vaccine? 28:38 CV Vaccine Distribution 31:28
Flu vs COVID-19 35:08 Herd Immunity 38:44 Scientist & Doctor Misinformation 41:34
Watch The New Normal!!!
CT scan shows damaged tissue from a covid-19 patient’s lungs!!!
It’s time for us all to make a difference as we should have learned from the South Koreans!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE-cA4UK07c
As much of the globe continues to stay home to practice social distancing, vibrant cities have gone quiet,
and animals are freer to roam. The rare absence of human activity grants us a special glimpse of what the world might be like without us in it.
Jeffrey Brown has the story for ongoing coverage of arts and culture, Canvas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5awa3cW6RmM
Poor air quality increases death from the COVID-19 virus – but because we are all staying home –
the air is cleaning up! Amy Freeze explains.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7nB1yuspxA
A quick look at some of the positive changes that have occurred in the environment since the coronavirus outbreak of 2020 to cold. Is COVID-19 healing our planet, allowing animals to roam free and pollution to drop to the lowest levels in years? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i426fmdOEC8
The lockdown: One month in Wuhan
The predictions about the coronavirus catastrophe grow more ominous by the day, and despite the best efforts of countries like Australia in enacting emergency action plans to contain the disease, its spread continues at a worrying rate. Even the World Health Organisation forecasts a world of pain. It says the virus poses a greater global threat than terrorism. That’s bad enough, but medical experts tell 60 MINUTES it’s actually even more terrifying. Professor Gabriel Leung, who led the fight against the SARS virus, believes 60 per cent of the world’s population could become infected with COVID-19 and that up to 45 million people might die from it. For this story, Liam Bartlett has travelled to Hong Kong and Thailand to find out the likely cause of the disease, as well as the latest ongoing efforts to combat it. At all times he and his crew have followed medical advice and undertaken strict protocols to limit their exposure to potential danger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7nZ4mw4mXw