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Isabel Josephson opens her window on Wednesday when Bill visits his home in Huddinge. Her hands tremble as she lifts the lock and greets her in a weak voice.
She quickly sits down in the chair by the window to avoid getting caught.
When DN meets Isabel She has been sick for 63 days, and for so many days she has had a fever that refuses to hit her, as well as itching, rashes, and a reduced general condition.
– I recorded my fever myself and for a time it was up to 40 degrees. I’m just over 38 now, but he’s rubbing my body, he says and shudders.
His words disappear remotely in the rain and wind from the top of the window, but she explains that the virus caused many strange symptoms. Memory has deteriorated and she sometimes has trouble finding words.
“It’s not something you’ve heard of,” she says.
Isabel Josephson, 35, has been ill with the suspected covid-19 for more than 60 days and no longer knows what to do when the fever refuses to leave me. “We are in the same situation now, which has been ill for months, but our group is a little forgotten,” she says.
Photo: Roger Turesson
Isabel Josephson says she had never been able to imagine this when she heard about the spread of a strange virus on the news in February.
– I have had anxiety about death and I want to get my life back. Sometimes I am tired of throwing up after showering, or having to support myself as soon as I walked a short distance in my garden a few days. I wish my children could live here as usual and that I could improve, he says sadly.
She has always lived an active and social life like many others before the pandemic crown. As a driving instructor, she meets people from all over the world and misses her after she had to stay home since mid-March.
The symptoms came on suddenly and during the first two weeks Isabel describes that she was so ill that she could hardly breathe.
– My daughter saw me when I was at its worst, I felt like I was suffocating. It sounds very dramatic and that’s it, she says.
That night she had to to go to Huddinge near Kut, where the doctors checked his oxygenation.
– A doctor had to hug me so I wouldn’t fall apart. But my oxygenation worked and then I understood that it would be fine. So I went home but took a large dose of cold asthma medication. Large amounts were there, he says, and continues:
– I was never tested for covid-19, but a doctor listened to my lungs and confirmed that I had a 99 percent chance of having it.
Your ex and the two children became infected and stayed home sick for three to four weeks before recovering. Isabel never did. Today, 63 days later, when she was a healthy little girl, she cannot understand why she has been beaten so badly and can hardly stand up.
“I have no underlying diseases that I know of and I have felt so lonely for so long,” she says.
Suddenly, he found the Facebook group “Covid-19, We Who Are Affected”, where more than 4,000 people with prolonged symptoms have gathered.
– I started crying when I realized that there were so many of us in the same situation, she says.
Isabel Josephson hopes that the long-term sick receive more care and that they can get better help in care. “My doctor has put on his hair to help me, he wants to test me for coronavirus sequelae but he can’t do it now.”
Photo: Roger Turesson
Anja L Sundberg is One of the driving forces within the group and has been ill since March 15, more than 50 days. She has had about 25 symptoms herself.
– I know that healthcare and society are struggling to learn more about this new disease. At the same time, many of those struggling at home are suffering greatly right now. I wish there was a faster process where foreign drug testing studies could also be tested on us in the “middle group,” because we are so many and seriously ill.
– Many people with severe symptoms, such as respiratory problems, fainting, neurological attacks and prolonged fever, do not seem to be able to communicate with a doctor, despite the fact that both their GP and 1177 absolutely believe they should.
Anja L Sundberg got finally examined, after about five weeks of waiting at the house. It felt good to rule out pneumonia and blood clots of which she had symptoms.
– But not everyone lives in a big city and all places don’t have special stores. At the same time, many people now feel that their doctors and employers are requiring them to return to work, even though they have many symptoms left, just because they’ve been sick “for too long,” and that’s crazy, says Anja L Sundberg. .
Ann-Christine Sjöblom is an infectious physician and specialist in general medicine. He is a member of the regional program for infectious diseases, a knowledge center for various parts of the health system that deals with infections.
She herself represents primary care and informs during meetings about long-term ill patients whom they increasingly meet.
– Many district doctors feel that more and more people experience long-term symptoms. And we haven’t had a chance to test these patients, “she says.
She tells me that There have been an increasing number of long-term sick leave.
Hopefully, we will begin to investigate our patients physically more as we get more protective gear. We cannot do that now because we have had a great lack of this, ”she says.
So far, they can only speculate on what the lingering symptoms are because they often have to meet patients who are sick on covid-19 remotely. Lack of sampling opportunities and protective equipment is the reason for this.
– It is not that we let people be as sick as possible, in serious cases we investigate them. But we have not been able to do this to the same extent as normal, as we have limited opportunities when they are not allowed to enter the health center.
Ann-Christine Sjöblom He believes that it is important that these patients be investigated to rule out other treatable causes of fever or respiratory symptoms such as bacterial pneumonia.
– There is a diagnosis called “covid-19 with no virus detected”. In our database you can quickly get an estimate of how many people are involved. With increased opportunities for protective equipment and sampling opportunities in primary care, we will follow up on these patients, she says.
Anna Färnert is professor and consultant for infectious diseases at Karolinska University Hospital. She says it is important to note that there are other causes, such as long-term fever.
– It can be absolutely the infection that causes these symptoms. But there are many other infections, such as tuberculosis and other causes of prolonged fever. Symptoms similar to covid-19. We have seen cases where people have waited too long to seek care because they thought they had covid-19. And so, in the end, it is a completely different infection. It is a very important message, she says.
Fever can also be A symptom of small blood clots in the lungs that the new coronavirus has been shown to give.
– It is important that you do not stay at home for long. You should not have a fever for four weeks. These may be other lung changes like fibrosis, but more research is needed, she says.
Photo: Roger Turesson
An increasing number of infections are currently observed in hospitals.
– It may be because people wait at home for a long time, it is not good.
But despite being durable Symptoms Anna Färnert says there are no studies yet that indicate you are still infected after eight weeks.
– There are no studies that have been able to detect viruses for so long, she says.
Today, Isabel still has difficulty walking, but the spirit is much better. From day to day, the symptoms vary greatly, and she has been fever free for a couple of days.
Like many others In his situation, he fears that the new coronavirus will cause serious sequelae.
– Yesterday I lay there and gasped, it is different from day to day. I probably won’t die, but I want my doctor to be able to evaluate me to rule out the worst, she says.
Ted Engfeldt works as a doctor at the Cityakuten GP. For eight weeks he has done everything possible to help Isabel Josephson.
– This group of patients should receive more attention, it is also my opinion that there is a large group of patients with long-term progress and that image will be further consolidated in our collegial discussions, he says.
Isabel Josephson is happy about their children to visit during the afternoon. Because they have already been sick, you can meet them as long as they are not too close to each other.
– I just want everything to go on as usual, she says, and gently closes her window.
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