Recovered, the Goians who had Covid-19 reveal their experiences with the disease.

Burning lungs, shortness of breath, high fever for days, and even spots covering the body: Sars-CoV-2 survivors tell what it was like to get over the virus

The human body is the most complex organic structure that exists. It is capable of creating defenses for infectious agents that remain active for the rest of its life and even manages to spontaneously expel impurities and microorganisms considered unnecessary for the operation of vital equipment. There are literally billions of cells working all day to keep everything running smoothly. However, a “simple” malfunction of nature, like the appearance of a new virus, is enough to open the fragility of this fantastic organic machine. Since Sars-Cov-2, popularly known as the new coronavirus, began killing thousands worldwide with the fearsome Covid-19, people of all ages, genders, and social classes have been running to meet the recommendations of health authorities. and prevent this evil. Still, the contamination of many is inevitable, but death is not.

Despite the exorbitant number of deaths caused by Covid-19 in the countries, the number of people who became infected with the new coronavirus and managed to defeat this invisible enemy is significantly greater, much greater. To get an idea, according to data from Microsoft’s Bing Covid platform, as of April 29, the world had almost two million active cases of Covid-19, with 224,708 deaths and 958,353 people recovered from the disease. There are almost 735 thousand more healed than dead.

In Brazil, as in the global scenario, it is no different. Even with an impressive 7% fatality rate, according to the Ministry of Health (EM), the number of deaths is infinitely less than that of fatalities. As of April 29, according to Microsoft data, 39,718 active cases were recorded, with 34,132 recovered and 5,511 deaths.

In the state of Goiás, until the 29th, 705 cases had been confirmed, with 27 deaths. And although the Department of Health of the State of Goiás (SES-GO), through the epidemiological bulletin, confirms the elimination of 2,422 suspected cases, there is no specific data on the recovered patient portfolio. But they are there, grateful that they have overcome one of the most terrible diseases in modern history, that they are.

Jornal Opção spoke with some of the Goiás patients who fit in as recovered from Covid-19. In the report, they recounted what it was like to experience the virus that was born in Asia and has since affected the entire world. In addition to the varied symptoms, ranging from temporary loss of smell and taste, to the appearance of red spots all over the body, in addition to the typical cough and shortness of breath, some of the coronavirus survivors have to deal with a problem that conventional remedies do not have. heal, like prejudice.

“They said I was going to party and pollute everyone”

In March of this year, the Director of Political Articulation of the Legislative Assembly of Goiás (Alego) and the dentist Joel de Sant’Anna Braga Filho were surprised to discover that the symptoms that were affecting him, and that he thought it was just sinusitis . they were actually from Covid-19.

Joel, brother of the São Paulo Secretary of Transportation and former Minister of Cities, Alexandre Baldy, said that after a trip to Portugal, he was in São Paulo and after less than two weeks, already in Goiânia, he began to develop a fever. and headache The director of Alego did not worry much at first, and went to see an otolaryngologist. And since I already had this a few times ago, I thought it was that, ”he reports.

However, two days after going to the doctor, Joel got worse and had to be rushed to the Anis Rassi Hospital emergency room in Goiânia. Upon undergoing a CT scan, Baldy’s brother discovered that he had double pneumonia. But it was only in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where Joel was taken and remained for five days, that a specific examination confirmed that he had contracted the new coronavirus.

The director of Alego says that he has never experienced anything like this. He spoke about his fear of the new disease, since he was one of the first diagnosed in the state, and recalled his experience in an ICU. “It is a cold place, it is scary. I ate there because I knew I had to eat, because I knew that my body needed it to recover. But about the disease, you never know if it will improve, if it will get worse, because you don’t have a specific treatment, you don’t know what can happen. My biggest fear was the lack of knowledge about the disease, “he says. In addition to a high fever (39 degrees) and a headache, Joel reveals that he was temporarily odorless and tasteless, and that he had difficulty breathing.

Joel underwent 30-day treatment: 12 days in hospital and 18 days at home, in isolation. However, even after having ruled out any risk of complications and being considered recovered, the director of Alego highlights the situations of discrimination he had to face due to the disease and the lack of knowledge on the part of other people.

According to him, some residents of his condo, out of malice or ignorance, started spreading rumors, leading to the belief that he, aware of the disease, had deliberately broken all recommended protocols. “They said I was going to party and pollute everyone, since I was someone else, it wasn’t me. They also said that he was walking around the condo, going to the entertainment area, even though he knew he was with Covid, which is not true. I didn’t know I had it, “he says. For him, “prejudice is the most complicated”.

Today, Joel can be considered cured of Covid-19. However, the recovery from the double pneumonia that affected him is still in progress, since it is a very aggressive disease. He says he still makes strict use of the protective mask and isolates himself as much as possible.

In a reflection, Joel says that he was lucky to be in good health and to have been taken care of by good doctors, to have had the opportunity to occupy a properly equipped ICU, but he emphasizes the fear of everyone: “If the grade increases a lot of contamination , there will be no ICU for everyone ”.

“I was tasteless and odorless for five days”

Entrepreneur Marcelo Trindade, 43, can also be considered a Covid-19 winner. A Goiania resident, Marcelo says that, on March 23, he decided to undergo the test that detects Sars-CoV-2, after presenting symptoms such as pain in the body, eyes, headache and difficulty breathing.

After five days, confirmation came that he was on Covid-19. The businessman reveals that he remembers, even, the moment when he thinks he contracted the disease. “I was in the United States and I went to lunch with someone. And I remember that she sneezed and coughed a lot. I think I got it from her, ”he says.

However, even after testing positive for the disease, Marcelo was not admitted. He reports that some symptoms were relatively mild and that he did not even have a fever, while others left their mark, such as the temporary loss of some senses. “I spent five days without taste or smell. I also had a little trouble breathing. My breath hurt, my lungs burned, my airways, everything, “he recalls.

Marcelo attributes the less aggressive symptoms, relative to those typically described, to the use of hydroxychloroquine reuquinol, a medication his dermatologist had prescribed for him days before his trip to the US. USA Due to problems in the scalp. The drug, however, remains controversial. The Federal Council of Medicine (CFM) even issued an opinion establishing criteria and conditions for the prescription of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in patients with a confirmed diagnosis of Covid-19, but emphasized that, after analyzing an extensive scientific literature, its understanding is that there is no solid evidence that these drugs, whose use has already caused deaths in Brazil and the USA. Have a confirmed effect in the prevention and treatment of the disease.

Marcelo’s treatment was carried out in the isolation of his home. The businessman reports that he consumed many fruits, especially citrus, at the time he separated from society. He mentions that his 12-year-old daughter also ended up infected and had to remain isolated. However, the girl’s case was “practically asymptomatic”. “She just lost her taste,” he says.

Even cured, like Joel de Sant’Anna, Marcelo reveals that he too is prejudiced. “Many, even today, don’t want to meet me.” He associates the fact with the fear that people have of contracting Sars-CoV-2. For him, “it is a lack of understanding of the subject.”

After the suffocation, the businessman links his recovery to proper care and explains that he strictly followed the recommendations for absolute isolation. However, it also highlights the importance of your faith in the entire process. “I am a person who believes a lot in God, so I see that this is a purpose for humanity. I began to value life more, I began to understand that not everything is work, that we have to look more at the human being, “he concludes.

“Only those who lived the nightmare we live in know it”

A resident of Nova Glória, a small town some 198 kilometers from Goiânia, Paulo Cândido Belarmino, 55, did not let Covid-19 win. However, her emotional state, still shocked, makes it impossible to tell her story, a problem solved by his wife, Susana de Oliveira Viegas, 49, who told the story of her husband’s nightmare.

The state school teacher says her husband, who is a businessman, is still very excited. “It was very traumatic for him,” he says. They do not know when and from whom exactly Paulo Cândido contracted the disease, since, due to his business, a used car dealer, Paulo needs to be in frequent contact with his clients.

The first symptoms appeared in early March: general discomfort, cough and body pain. However, the possibility that her husband was infected with the new coronavirus did not even cross Susana’s mind. “We don’t even suspect. When he was admitted to the emergency room, I thought it was a complication of the flu, because we live here, it is inland, there is no way we can imagine that this disease would be here. We watch the news and think that this is only in larger cities, “he recalls.

The first place of care was at the health post in the municipality of Nova Glória. There, the businessman underwent a complete blood count that ruled out the suspicion of dengue. Paulo then returned home, where he was determined to recover. Little did he know that the worst was yet to come.

Susana reports that three days after being seen at the health center, her husband worsened and that more drastic measures should be taken. “His respiratory condition worsened and he had to be transferred to Ceres on April 4. There they did a CT scan and saw that he had advanced pneumonia. It was then that the doctor suspected that it could be a coronavirus, “he says. Soon after, Paulo Cândido was transferred to the Órion Hospital, in Goiânia, where he received confirmation from the infamous Covid-19.

Upon entering the hospital in a serious condition and with great difficulty breathing on his own, the businessman had to be intubated and hospitalized with an isolated ICU bed. Susana remembers that the procedure caused her great confusion, since she did not understand the fact that her husband was infected with Sars-CoV-2.

“I didn’t know that this virus had come here [em Goiás]. We really don’t know how to deal with this, because when we deal with normal pneumonia, we already know the process […], but in his case it was extreme, because he was hospitalized and soon intubated, because he could no longer breathe. His lungs were no longer successful, “he reveals.

Paulo Cândido was hospitalized 20, of which 13 were in a state of sedation. Susana remembers that sometimes her husband woke up in a disoriented state, but soon went back to sleep. On April 21, she was discharged and was able to return home.

The current state of health of the 55-year-old businessman is considered good, and is already included in the recovery statistics. Susana says her husband is still using some antibiotics prescribed by the doctor. She says that her husband has been receiving an improved diet, with plenty of fruits and liquids, and that he has been doing physical exercises to stimulate the body, after so many days immobile in sedation. “Today he went out to sunbathe, to walk. He is much more willing ”, he celebrates.

For Susana, it is still too early to say whether the virus has left its sequels on her husband, since he is still in the process of “the body is responding to the treatment carried out.” She says that at no time do I despair, and that her faith “and the prayers of friends in the community helped a lot.” However, he warns: “Only those who lived the nightmare in which we live know it. Do not take it lightly, because it is not as simple as people think, you cannot minimize the virus, “he concludes.

“I did not do a test, the Ministry of Health classified my case as a Covid patient by excluding diagnoses”

While talking to the report, the 45-year-old journalist María de Goiás (not her real name, the source asked not to be identified), apologizes and needs to repeatedly pause the interview to cough. She has been confined for exactly 14 days at home with all the symptoms of Covid-19, but the worst part is: she could not be tested to confirm her diagnosis.

Maria says that just over two weeks ago she began to show the first symptoms. A family member, who is a doctor, came to his home and reported that Maria had all the symptoms of the disease and some more not so typical. “I was evolving to others [sintomas] which, according to her, were rarer. I developed a headache, eye pain, diarrhea, vomiting, a lot of discharge, and a cough. And besides that, I smeared my whole body. I was even a little happy thinking it was dengue, look what an idea! But I took the test twice and I couldn’t find dengue, ”he says.

The journalist recalls that she searched the public and private networks to undergo the test that detects the new coronavirus in the body, but the answer, in the two networks, was only one: “Neither of them performs the test on a patient outside from the ICU. They said I had to find a doctor to order the exam for me, ”he recalls. However, even having obtained the written request from your doctor in the private network. Maria was not successful.

“All the material [de testagem] He was being directed to ICU patients. The information we receive in the health units is that the Ministry of Health (MS) collected everything. The feeling I had, honestly, is that it was only to have the cause of death, “he says.

Since she could not perform the conventional test, and the private network rapid test, which costs R $ 300, had to be done three times in a row to exclude the false negative result, which would be extremely expensive for Maria, the journalist heard from her doctor. that the solution in the case in question was their social isolation. And she did it.

On April 29, Maria completed 14 days in home confinement and reveals that she has not yet fully recovered. According to her, symptoms such as cough, headache and vomiting are still felt. The journalist, who lives in Goiânia with her 70-year-old mother and 17-year-old son, does not leave the room at all, and had to adopt a routine worthy of Chernobyl to eat without running the risk of contaminating the residents of the house. . “My mom put a small table on the door of the bedroom. She leaves my food and knocks on the door, she with a mask and me too. I wait for her to go, open the door and grab the food. Like, I go to the bathroom, wash the dishes, put them on the table and spray alcohol. After spraying alcohol, she picks up and washes the dishes again, ”he describes.

The first time they looked for a public health unit, the Cais de Campinas, to test the test, the docks team collected María’s data and transmitted it to the Ministry of Health and the Goiânia Municipal Health Department. . Now, both federal and municipal portfolios communicate daily, by phone. After completing 14 days of confinement, Maria, who is also asthmatic, says the MS called her and, after a series of questions about her condition, recommended two more days at home.

“I did not do a test, the Ministry of Health classified my case as a Covid patient by excluding diagnoses. They contact me every day by phone and you have to answer questions from the doctor or nurse. Not only the Ministry, but also daily calls from the Municipal Secretary. I am sorry, but I cannot leave because if I leave I can infect someone, without even an accurate diagnosis, so I hope. It is absurd ”, he concludes.

The Jornal Opção report questioned the Goiânia Municipal Secretariat about the test protocol that the Goiânia docks are following with regard to the new coronavirus. In a note, the folder said that “the protocol of the Ministry of Health is so that only hospitalized patients are examined.

Also according to the note, the Secretariat “bought and started to do a PCR test, which is more accurate in detecting viruses such as the coronavirus in health professionals and outpatients, provided they are symptomatic and have been evaluated by a doctor in the health system units “.