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The start of the quarantine was agreed at the hospital.
Aquila, who is raising a five-year-old daughter with her husband, said her family marathon after the hospitals began in mid-January. The girl’s disease, acute leukoblastic leukemia, struck like a thunderstorm from a clear sky and very aggressively, required immediate treatment.
“Usually we never think it could happen to our son. She was always active, curious, wanting everything. He recently underwent surgery for appendicitis, so low hemoglobin was not a cause for concern. Doctors simply recommended improving iron supplements. Facial paleness was also “canceled” for surgery.
The diagnosis became clear when one day he had very severe back pain and had to call an ambulance. We ended up in the hospital, we underwent tests and they advised us to start chemotherapy as soon as possible, ”he said.
The first months after the diagnosis are always the most difficult until one lives with the disease, especially from the first month that mother and daughter had to spend in the Santara clinics. It is true that they were surrounded by the attention of loved ones who visited them frequently.
“When the number of COVID-19 cases began to grow, a meeting of doctors and parents was held, during which it was announced that visits are prohibited, it is necessary to wear masks in the hospital and stay in our wards. Until then, the children played together and the mothers talked, so psychologically it was easier to stay that long. Especially since her daughter endured the treatment quite easily, she recovered quickly after the chemistry.
It was also the case that the chemistry fell on her while she was playing table football. I myself imagined the much more terrible treatment for her to lie down and so on. But when we isolated ourselves, it became very difficult. The boy runs out of the room, but you don’t explain why not. How much can you draw, write, or talk on the phone with other family members? “Said the interlocutor.
Maneuvering between fear and the need to communicate
Currently, they go to the hospital once a month for supportive treatment and return home after chemotherapy.
“You can only enter the department after the COVID-19 test. It is not a good procedure to have to repeat every month, especially for a child, but we feel really safe in the room. However, we also live in quarantine at home, because we have to protect our daughter, she cannot get sick. So, I admit, the sensitivity to coughs and sneezes of those around me is really heightened.
Sometimes I think that if it weren’t for my daughter’s illness, we would feel freer. I would probably risk meeting people more often, but now just knowing that someone from friends has taken the tests and they are negative, we can try to meet more courageously, even though our conscience is always shattered, what if? It is true that the son goes to school, we cannot close him at home. But he is very understanding, he protects himself, he wears a mask and a shield not to bring anything, ”said Akvilė.
The woman revealed that the most difficult thing is that the daughter also longs to go somewhere, she really wants to communicate with other children, she misses her grandparents, so she has to maneuver between the desire to protect her daughter and the concern for your emotional state.
“For a child to develop, he needs socialization. Of course, at home we try to play, learn, but it is not the same as being in a kindergarten that we cannot go to either. He desperately needs communication: meeting at a distance with masks does not It makes up for it. Before the meeting, she always asks, “Can I hug?” So my mom keeps taking the COVID-19 test and then comes to see us right away. We can have a closer contact for sure for a while.
Only by knowing that our friends have taken the tests can we meet with more confidence, even though our conscience is still shattered, what if?
It’s a shame that so many people write in various comments that there are no viruses and there is nothing to be careful about here. It really is. And there have been cases in our immediate environment.
That is why I appeal to those who exhort you not to be sure: think of us, think how difficult it is for us now and do not walk into stores with your nose exposed. Now you have to see it all: people walk around in their masks and keep sneezing. So all we have to do is run to the other end of the store ”, shared the interlocutor.
There are already sick children
According to the head of the Pediatric Oncohematology Center of Clinicas Santara doc. Jelena Rascon, the high prevalence of coronavirus in society, has drastically adjusted the work of the hospital and the lives of its patients. There are people who have already had COVID-19, but do not develop antibodies against them, so they can become infected again.
“All patients who come to us have a PCR test done first. It also happens that the child’s test is negative and the mother’s test is positive. And if it is a small child, we cannot put it to bed without its mother. Please arrive after quarantine Of course, if the treatment cannot be delayed, we sleep without the mother, then the nursing staff takes care of the child.
However, it is always a great stress as we have to decide if we can postpone chemotherapy. Fortunately, there have been no cases where we could not delay because the cancer is developing so fast and the child has COVID-19. There are usually complications related to treatment and disease after chemotherapy. If the COVID-19 infection contributed to them, we do not know what the consequences would be, ”said the doctor.
It is true that so far there are only units in small COVID-19 patients, two of them after a bone marrow transplant. The interviewee was satisfied that the course of the disease was practically difficult for everyone, although the age varied from 6 to 17 years.
Žygimantas Gedvila / 15min photo / Head of the Center for Children’s Oncohematology dr. Jelena rascon
“The mild forms of the disease are explained by the fact that part of the symptoms depends on how the person feels. In part, wellness is an expression of the immune system’s response. And knowing that the immune system of our patients is weaker, possibly because of that, the symptoms are minimal. According to the scientific literature, children who have undergone a transplant, chemotherapy, have a lower risk of dying from COVID-19 than adults, but the most risky group of children are those who have just undergone a transplant because they are receiving intensive immunosuppressive treatment. Therefore, it is fundamentally important at what stage of the treatment these patients become infected, ”Rascon explained.
The doctor regretted that public awareness about the means to spread the coronavirus is still low. And when the virus spreads, it inevitably reaches those who are very dangerous. Children are usually infected with family members who are carriers of the virus from the environment.
“The vast majority of COVID-19s in society have a mild to moderate form of the disease, which makes everyone feel like the disease isn’t terrible. But I really wouldn’t want to see what’s going on in hospitals right now. Extraordinary siege: lack of places, rooms, staff … Absolutely everything People’s conscience would help treatment facilities avoid this burden and stress.
Another thing is that we have planned consultations in the polyclinic, and people do not always say that they had contact with the patient before going to him. There is still a lack of responsibility.
Of course, we doctors comply with all safety requirements, we use personal protective equipment, but if that person is already in the spread of the virus, they can infect staff, and this will spread the virus to other patients, “he warned the interlocutor.
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