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A young doctor has shared his terrifying story of contracting Covid-19 and still feeling the effects months later.
Dr. Owen O’Flynn appeared at a Department of Health press conference tonight where today’s new cases and numbers were discussed.
The 23-year-old said he experienced the loss of his sense of taste and smell now synonymous with coronavirus in late March, with no other symptoms.
He did not qualify for a test at that time because his symptoms were not in the case definition.
A month later, he began to feel ill but tested negative.
He then had to be hospitalized for what he thought was “severe gastroenteritis” and it was cleaned up again, only to be negative again.
After scans, which showed damage to his heart, he was informed of a new post-Covid syndrome that was beginning to be reported in Italy, which normally occurs in children.
Video not available
Later that night “he quickly deteriorated” and in the space of a minute he was unable to finish a sentence.
He was admitted to the ICU, where he stabilized, but saw his heart function drop by two-thirds.
It was close for two or three days at its “lowest point,” he said.
He began to recover and a week later he was discharged, but “in no way was he repaired.”
Dr. O’Flynn said he was out of breath walking around the house and it took him six weeks to get back to some kind of normalcy.
But to this day he says that he has reduced his physical form.
He concludes: “As for why I am sharing my story, while the elderly are at higher risk for COVID-19, this virus can still have devastating effects on people of any age and there is no real way of knowing who will deteriorate. and that you will get through it without serious symptoms.
“I am a 23-year-old who maintained a high level of physical condition and ended up in the ICU due to COVID-19.
“I urge anyone who thinks they are immune to the most serious effects of this disease to think twice and follow public health advice.”
Read Dr. O’Flynn’s full story below
“My Covid story begins at the end of March.
“I started experiencing a loss of the sense of smell and taste with no other symptoms.
“I did not qualify for a test at the time as my symptoms were not in the case definition.
“I regained my sense of taste and smell a week later.
“About a month later, on April 26, I started to feel bad after a day working at the ICU Covid.
“I was tested in the community and the swab came back negative.
“My symptoms at the time were stomach pain, temperature spikes, profuse sweating, constant vomiting and diarrhea, as well as a rash on various parts of my body, particularly on my hands and feet.
“This reached a point where I needed hospitalization for what I thought was severe gastroenteritis.
“I was admitted to the Covid pathway at CUH and got another swab that was again negative as I was not actively spreading the virus at the time.
“My heart tracing showed signs of damage, as did the enzymes in my heart.
“Two days later my oxygen levels dropped and a chest X-ray revealed a new injury.
“I was informed of a new post-Covid syndrome that began to be reported in Italy, which is generally seen in children.
“So they re-sampled me, the results showed that I had had a Covid-19 infection about 4-6 weeks before.
“Later that night I quickly deteriorated.
“My oxygen levels dropped and in the space of a minute I couldn’t finish a sentence.
“On the basis of how quickly I was deteriorating, I entered the ICU.
“After the analysis of my scans, the decision was made to lie on my front, from time to time we do this for COVID-19 patients who are intubated in the ICU to improve lung function.
“If it didn’t improve, I would go into a coma and intubate myself.
“Fortunately, that process helped me stabilize for several days.
“However, my heart function began to decline to a third of what it should be.
“So at that time I had two major system failures as part of postcovid syndrome, both acute respiratory failure and acute heart failure.
“At that point I started to wonder if I would ever get out of the ICU, would I die there?
“I came to accept that if he did, everything possible would have been done to prevent that from happening.
“The ICU doctors were supporting my heart through medications to ensure that my blood pressure was maintained.
“Those two or three days were probably my lowest point.
“I was in constant contact with my girlfriend and my family, but I also received a lot of emotional support from the staff and my friends.
“Fortunately, everything began to resolve slowly.
“I was discharged from the ICU ward and a week later I was discharged home.
“It was by no means fixed when I got home.
“I was out of breath walking around the house and was in constant contact with the physical therapists at CUH to monitor how I was doing.
“It took six weeks after discharge to regain a sense of normalcy.
“Again, the whole time I was terrified because I was in the realm of the unknown.
“I didn’t know how much function I would regain and to this day I still have low levels of fitness.
“As for why I’m sharing my story, while the elderly are at higher risk for COVID-19, this virus can still have devastating effects on people of any age and there is no real way to know who will deteriorate and who will deteriorate. You will get sick through it without serious symptoms.
“I am a 23-year-old who maintained a high level of physical condition and ended up in the ICU due to COVID-19.
“I urge anyone who thinks they are immune to the most serious effects of this disease to think twice and follow public health advice.”
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