He spent 61 days on a respirator.

Sweden, March 2020.

Firefighter and great-grandfather Kent Östling (47) is at a memorial service for a colleague. They cry and hug each other, but they also talk a little about the pandemic that has begun to reach the country. Two days later, Östling has a high fever. It doesn’t seem like anything special to you at first, because you have no other symptoms. But the fever does not go away, and after nine days he is admitted to the hospital. Shortly afterwards, he was diagnosed with covid-19 and placed in an artificial coma and respirator.

– He was very weak and was neither hungry nor thirsty. I couldn’t take it anymore and just wanted to give up, she tells Dagbladet.

Although Östling was young and had no underlying illness, he remained on the ventilator for 61 days. For 35 days, he was also connected to an Ecmo machine, which takes care of the work of the heart and lungs.

He was awake from time to time, but remembers little of the time, except for a few dreams and hallucinations.

– I thought I was lying in a coffin, and I dreamed that I was looking at my family who was in mourning. He did not want to die, but at the same time he did not fear the moment of death. Still, I couldn’t let go because I was caught up in something. When I turned around I saw that it was a respirator.

– Rarely

In Norway, 338 patients have been treated so far in an intensive care unit, of which a large proportion have been on a ventilator, according to chief physician Håkon Ihle-Hansen of Bærum Hospital.

– That young people develop a very serious course is fortunately rare, but some cases will present with an increasing incidence of the disease, says Dagbladet’s superior.

– This is illustrated by the fact that only nine of the 353 deaths in Norway have been under 50 years of age. Young people who develop a severe course often have underlying diseases, he explains.

Complications

Ihle-Hansen receives support from infection physician Olav Lutro. He says that although the elderly and those with underlying illnesses are more exposed to a serious course of illness, we have also had younger and apparently healthy people on a respirator in Norway.

– We do not know why some get sick more than others. In general, we know that those who do not have any symptoms are usually healthy children or young adults. In general, the elderly and those with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart failure and cancer will also be more prone to other diseases.

Lutro believes that covid-19 stands out for being so widespread.

– This means that we see more “deviations” with young and apparently completely healthy people who get very sick.

The infection doctor points out that if you’ve been hospitalized for three months and been on a ventilator for more than 60 days, it’s probably not just due to covid-19, but complications that have occurred along the way.

– It’s not uncommon for intensive care patients to contract bacterial infections like pneumonia or inflammation of the bloodstream, he says.

Grateful

In mid-May, the Swede had his respirator removed and instead received oxygen through his nose. By then he had lost 28 kilos and could barely move.

– I was able to lift my ass a bit and squeeze a ball, but I didn’t take my first steps until June with a walker. Then I managed to walk four steps, then eight, and finally 80, he explains.

In late June, the 47-year-old man was released from the hospital. So I could walk 500 meters with a walker.

– When I realized how sick I had been and they told me that the doctors did not believe that I would survive, I was grateful that my body wanted to return.

I need to train your nerves

The consequences of a serious illness have not been sufficiently mapped, according to Ihle-Hansen. However, several Norwegian studies are being carried out in this regard and the results are expected in the coming months. The superior believes that the degree of late effects will probably depend on the age of the patient, the level of function, the course of the disease, the severity of the disease with the degree of lung failure, the treatment and the duration of the disease.

– The Swede has had a very long and complicated course, and then a long convalescence is to be expected. Since the illness usually lasts for several weeks in those with symptoms, recovery may take longer.

If you’ve been using a respirator for as long as Östling, Lutro believes that in addition to the loss of muscle mass, you’ll have to train your nerves to redo basic skills like walking, raising your hands, and eating.

– Many have been taking anesthetic medications for a long time and will have a psychological reaction in the form of restlessness and anxiety. This would like to recover eventually, he says.

The infection physician notes that the organ system will likely be out of commission as well and that a reduction in lung capacity can be expected.

– It’s not just about lying on a respirator, and 61 days is extremely long, he says.

Back as a firefighter

Today, Östling is back with a 50 percent job as a firefighter and can run short distances. But even though he is on the road to recovery, the 47-year-old says he has suffered nerve damage throughout his body. This means that he has slightly poorer balance and coordination. Her taste and smell are gone, and she has suffered lung damage.

– I have a lung capacity of about 50 percent. This could be better, but maybe not, he says.

At the moment, his main focus is on family and being a good father.

– My goal is not to run a marathon or lift 200 kilos, but I hope I can go back to work full time as a firefighter. There is no other job you want to do.