[ad_1]
A young doctor wondered if he was going to die in the ICU after contracting Covid-19.
Dr. Owen O’Flynn, 23, originally thought he had gastroenteritis after being admitted to the hospital.
The doctor, originally from Bantry in West Cork, had contracted the virus but was not tested and about a month later developed a post-Covid syndrome that left him in the ICU.
The Kerry University Hospital physician shared his story at the National Public Health Emergency Team’s daily briefing on Monday.
Dr O’Flynn’s story comes in as 825 new cases of Covid-19 and one more death was reported in Ireland today.
He said last March that he began experiencing a loss of his sense of smell and taste with no other symptoms, but that he did not qualify for a Covid test at the time.
He said both senses returned a week later.
Dr O’Flynn said that about a month later he started to feel unwell after a day working at the Covid ICU.
“I was tested in the community and the swab was negative,” he said.
“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 which 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 took samples from me again, the results of which showed that I had had a Covid-19 infection around 4-6 weeks earlier.
He said it began to deteriorate “rapidly” that night.
“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 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 I didn’t improve, they would put me in a coma and intubate.
“Fortunately, that process helped me stabilize for several days.”
Dr. O’Flynn added: “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 post-Covid syndrome, both acute respiratory failure and acute heart failure.
“At that moment I started to wonder if I would ever leave the ICU, would I die there?
“I came to accept that if I did, everything possible would have been done to prevent that from happening. The ICU doctors were supporting my heart with 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.
https://t.co/XUfsGVAlzE
– Department of Health (@roinnslainte) October 12, 2020
Dr. O’Flynn said things began to resolve slowly.
He said he was discharged from the ICU and a week later he was allowed to return home.
He said he was “in no way fixed” after being discharged.
“I was out of breath walking around the house and was in constant contact with CUH’s physical therapists to monitor how I was doing.
“It took six weeks since discharge to regain a sense of normalcy. Again, the whole time I was terrified because I was in the realm of the unknown. I did not know how much function I would regain and to this day I still have reduced fitness levels. “Dr. O’Flynn said he was sharing his story as the coronavirus” can still have devastating effects on people of any age. “
“I am 23 years old, I maintained a high level of physical condition and I 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.”
[ad_2]