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A DOCTOR HAS shared his experience of contracting Covid-19, explaining that he was unable to finish a sentence and his heart function was reduced to a third of what it should have been.
Dr Owen O’Flynn, 23, with no underlying illness, told his story at tonight’s Department of Health briefing as a warning to young people about the effects Covid-19 can have.
I am a 23 year old young man who maintained a high level of physical condition and ended up in the ICU due to Covid-19.
In late March, she experienced a loss of taste and smell with no other symptoms. At the time, he did not qualify for a Covid-19 test; he regained his sense of taste and smell after a week.
About a month later, on April 26, O’Flynn began to feel ill again after working in a Covid intensive care room. He was tested and the swab was 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, especially on my hands and feet.”
He was hospitalized at Cork University Hospital for what he thought was severe gastroenteritis and received a negative Covid-19 smear test.
“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. “
O’Flynn was then screened for Covid-19 antibodies using a blood test, the results of which indicated that he had a Covid-19 infection around 4-6 weeks prior.
“Later that night I quickly deteriorated,” he said.
My oxygen levels dropped and in the space of a minute I couldn’t finish a sentence. Due to how quickly I was deteriorating, I entered the ICU. After analysis of my scans, the decision was made to lie on my front, occasionally we do this for Covid-19 patients who are intubated in ICU to improve lung function.
O’Flynn stabilized after this 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 the post-Covid 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?”
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The medications supported his heart to ensure that blood pressure was maintained.
“Fortunately, everything began to resolve slowly. They released me from the ICU ward and a week later they released me home. “
She continued to have trouble breathing after this and was “out of breath from walking around the house. “It took six weeks since discharge to regain a sense of normalcy,” he said.
He said they will never know exactly how he contracted the virus and whether he contracted it at work or through community transmission.
Speaking at the Health Department briefing tonight, O’Flynn said it was “disappointing” to see some people disobey the rules, adding that the guidelines were there for a reason.
With reporting by Michelle Hennessy.
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