A woman who contracted COVID-19 after her eight-year-old son tested positive has advised parents to protect themselves from their children the minute they notice symptoms, saying it is more important than isolating them from their siblings.
“My message is that children may get it mildly, but do not underestimate its effects on a healthy 45-year-old. Looking back, I would have protected myself earlier, without necessarily waiting for results,” said the healthcare professional, who wanted to remain anonymous due to the unjustified stigma around the coronavirus.
In a bid to raise awareness and offer valid first-hand advice, she said adults should keep their distance from their children while nursing them.
“I kick myself for not doing so – from the first signs. Wear your mask and keep away, hard as it may be not to have contact and cuddle them.”
It would have spared her the headache – literally – of tending to her two boys single-handedly, while herself fighting a virus that knocked her out for up to five hours in the afternoons.
Over two months ago, the mother and her two children got tested as soon as they were informed a friend, who had visited them, had contracted COVID-19. But it was only her eldest who tested positive – at a time when infected children were a rarity.
Ultimately, his symptoms were only two short bouts of painful cramps and diarrhoea. His body was on fire at one point, but he had no fever.
She kept it hidden away from family and friends to avoid worry as she held the fort alone
The mother went into “doctor mode” and remained calm, tapping into her own expertise and following the paediatricians’ instructions.
The problem is the fear of the unknown, she maintained, although he was well after a couple of days and did not pass the virus on to anyone he had met.
Some five days later, however, she woke up with muscle aches and could barely get out of bed. She had that “fluish aura”, congestion, a runny nose and cold sweats, but no fever, and went straight for another swab.
A positive result almost led to relief as she now knew why she felt so terrible: “I was really unwell; like a rag. I don’t think I’ve ever been so exhausted.
“It was like I had a very bad flu, sneezing the house down, but without a cough and only a mild sore throat. I also noticed I lost my olfactory senses when I could not smell the Vicks I was applying.”
Among her symptoms were dehydration and low blood pressure, which left her immobile and hallucinating one night.
But the worst was when she woke up to a pounding heart, which sent her into a panic.
“My breathing was not good, and my chest felt tight. I downloaded an app to check my fast heart rate and see whether it was missing a beat.”
However, admitting herself into hospital for an ECG with two kids in tow – one infected – complicated matters considerably. In the end, a cardiologist friend ran her through the motions and calmed her down.
Then came the “unbelievably painful” 24/7 headaches after the first week. “It was over my eyes and down the sides, like someone was tightening a band around my head. No painkillers whatsoever could ease it”.
These – what she terms a “COVID-19 complication” – have persisted over the months, rearing their ugly head if she overdoes it.
Since she had the virus, she now needs spectacles to counter blurred vision, tentatively joining the dots of her eyesight deterioration to the headaches.
But these could also be down to post-traumatic tension: she fought her own sickness; faced the shock of her son’s and the fear of the unknown, while tending to his needs and trying to protect her other child from falling ill. She kept it hidden away from family and friends to avoid worry as she held the fort alone.
The former patient has nothing but praise for the “super service” of the health department, starting from the twice daily calls from paediatricians, who assured her they were on hand with advice and would also remind her to send the oxygen levels and heart rates she was monitoring.
But she also thinks the listening ear of former COVID-19 patients, with hands-on experience of the virus, would be inestimable in times of worry and doubt, and believes a support network should be set up.
She also suggests a setup to deal with post-COVID complications, where former patients can go to be assessed and advised.
The whole COVID-19 experience has been an eyeopener, changing her outlook on life and the way she now values quality time. Rather than working round the clock to afford some luxury item, she prefers to have time to lie on a beach with her kids.
Armed with antibodies, she is back in action, but admits that, although ‘positive’ by nature, her mid-summer ordeal had depressed her, and it was hard to put it completely behind her.
50th death, 115 new cases
A man has died after testing positive for COVID-19, as another 115 new cases were registered yesterday.
The 77-year-old is Malta’s 50th death from the coronavirus. He lived at a home for the elderly and had tested positive 10 days earlier.
The new cases were detected from 3144 swabs. A further 39 patients recovered, meaning Malta now has 1845 active cases.
Of the 121 cases announced on Friday, 43 were family members of previously known cases and 12 were contacts from work. Three cases were traced to Paceville.