Living with Corona virus - sufferers thread

Good friend of mines Dad showed symptoms on Sunday,got worse on Monday,collapsed at home,ambulance was called,took 10 hours to get to him,he was taken to hospital,put into a coma and onto a ventilator,he sadly passed away Wednesday afternoon. He had no underlying health issues and was 58. Saw my mate today,he is just stunned and in total disbelief at the speed his Dad was taken from him.😔

Covered End said:

We just had the phone call we've been expecting.
The mother in law's care home has got it's first confirmed case of COVID-19 and what do we want for the MIL if she contracts it?
Leave her in the home or transfer her to hospital ?
We said leave her in the home, as she's 92 and at least she knows the staff. 

I think I can see what's possibly going to happen here and it's going to effect my wife indefinitely.

Fingers crossed mate.

alan dugdale said:

The missus became ill on Monday, taking to bed straight away, most unlike her. Had a cough and felt lethargic with aches and pains. We rang 111 on Wednesday which was followed by our gp calling her back. Said it’s more than likely Covid. 

She seems to feel not too bad one day but rough the next. Still has a slight dry cough and a high temp plus feels washed out.
Paracetamol definitely helps.

Hope she feels better soon.  Take CE's advice and to still ensure to rest on the days she is feeling better as sounds very similar to what my wife went through the last week.  Fortunately she seems to have turned a corner today and has been out of bed most of the day but very similar in feeling not as bad one day and worse the next....rest is key mate.

RodneyCharltonTrotta said:

alan dugdale said:

The missus became ill on Monday, taking to bed straight away, most unlike her. Had a cough and felt lethargic with aches and pains. We rang 111 on Wednesday which was followed by our gp calling her back. Said it’s more than likely Covid. 

She seems to feel not too bad one day but rough the next. Still has a slight dry cough and a high temp plus feels washed out.
Paracetamol definitely helps.

Hope she feels better soon.  Take CE's advice and to still ensure to rest on the days she is feeling better as sounds very similar to what my wife went through the last week.  Fortunately she seems to have turned a corner today and has been out of bed most of the day but very similar in feeling not as bad one day and worse the next....rest is key mate.

Cheers for that. I agree with your previous posts about being difficult to self isolate within a self isolating house too. More difficult than you’d think ! 

alan dugdale said:

RodneyCharltonTrotta said:

alan dugdale said:

The missus became ill on Monday, taking to bed straight away, most unlike her. Had a cough and felt lethargic with aches and pains. We rang 111 on Wednesday which was followed by our gp calling her back. Said it’s more than likely Covid. 

She seems to feel not too bad one day but rough the next. Still has a slight dry cough and a high temp plus feels washed out.
Paracetamol definitely helps.

Hope she feels better soon.  Take CE's advice and to still ensure to rest on the days she is feeling better as sounds very similar to what my wife went through the last week.  Fortunately she seems to have turned a corner today and has been out of bed most of the day but very similar in feeling not as bad one day and worse the next....rest is key mate.

Cheers for that. I agree with your previous posts about being difficult to self isolate within a self isolating house too. More difficult than you’d think ! 

Obviously, staying positive is necessary but the worry is hearing of people, otherwise healthy, losing their battle so quickly.
Hope your wife keeps on improving.

Need to stay positive and deal with the facts as they are in the moment and not the what ifs etc.  For every tragedy of some poor soul being hospitalised or passing there are likely thousands recovering with minimal (if any) symptoms.  

The nature of news and social media and our reception of it is so visceral in that we will retain the worst case scenarios and tragedies and disregard the facts that it is not always the worst case. 

Need to keep perspective and stay positive and optimistic. By accident I avoided all the coronavirus threads yesterday, the news and LBC as was so busy with the kids, looking after the missus and bits of work that meant I was entirely switched off and "isolated" from it all for 24 hours and it was the best i have felt for weeks. 

All the trheads on here tend to focus on the powerful and worst case scenarios of this vile thing and our focus is drawn to that because of the potential and actual horrors for us all but there is a lot to be said for distancing yourself from all that mentally and just living in the moment and getting on with life without thinking about it.

Something i am really going to try and do better in the coming weeks. Worrying about it all does nothing but make you feel worse and better to be happy and upbeat out of the 2 options.

swords_alive said:

Anyone got any experience of a relative or contact being hospitalised and recovering?

Mum's best mate was taken in yesterday, pre-existing heart conditions, confirmed this morning that he has covid-19. Naturally worry is taking over, more so from my point of view in respect that my mum relies on him for her walks and everyday company in normal times. She's in Bucks, long way from me, fit and well for 76, but this is obviously a shock and worse could yet follow.

I'd like to think there are recovery stories but maybe they're not getting much coverage, though likely as it's early days, may be it's too early to expect recovery stories yet. 

I found these reports, which give a bit of hope- 
https://amp.heart.co.uk/lifestyle/recovered-survived-coronavirus-stories-symptoms/

https://www.heart.co.uk/news/coronavirus/grandma-95-oldest-survivor-covid-19/

Anyone got anymore, or stories of people getting through after being hospitalised, even though appreciating it's relatively early days here in the uk?  Hoping there are plenty to come.

A colleagues Dad, in his 70's and with cancer had it and went to hospital about 2 weeks ago.  He is now back at home and waiting on test results to prove it has left his body.  A client of mine in late 70's with previous heart issues, fell broke his hip, went to hospital, got a urinary infection and Covid and whilst still In hospital has improved last 3 days.

Covered End said:

We just had the phone call we've been expecting.
The mother in law's care home has got it's first confirmed case of COVID-19 and what do we want for the MIL if she contracts it?
Leave her in the home or transfer her to hospital ?
We said leave her in the home, as she's 92 and at least she knows the staff. 

I think I can see what's possibly going to happen here and it's going to effect my wife indefinitely.

Hope things work out mate. Best wishes

Sorry to hear about your mother in law, Steve. All the best.

Covered End said:

We just had the phone call we've been expecting.
The mother in law's care home has got it's first confirmed case of COVID-19 and what do we want for the MIL if she contracts it?
Leave her in the home or transfer her to hospital ?
We said leave her in the home, as she's 92 and at least she knows the staff. 

I think I can see what's possibly going to happen here and it's going to effect my wife indefinitely.

Really sorry to hear about your MIL; I hope she stays safe.

Whilst I understand your stance, my wife, who is a senior carer in a residential home in Bedfordshire, offers the following contrary view.

My wife is concerned that by leaving a coronavirus patient in a care home, the following unintended consequencies will occur - 

1. The contagion will spread to both other residents and care staff because (a) care home staff will not have the level of clothing protection that is afforded to hospital staff (just basic gowns, masks and gloves). (b) the inability to "social distance" because inevitably, residents in care homes have to be physically handled (washing, toileting, feeding etc. (c) whilst care home staff are trained in "end of life" care, they are not trained to deal with pandemics; many carers, on the minimum wage did not sign up to be put in a life threatening position, whilst I would suggest that NHS staff (and hats off to them), understand there is an element of risk involved with their profession.

There is no right or wrong solution but I thought I would provide my wife's alternative views to your post.

Once again, fingers crossed for your MIL. 

Tough decisions facing families all over the country with their relations in care homes.
Empathy with CE and his wife as COVID-19 has found its insidious way into care home via the poorly paid and ill equipped staff in many homes.
Please distinguish between the individuals in homes, some like my in-laws had no quality of life left and the torture my wife when  through as her dad with Parkinson and dementia and her mum in the same home with dementia died which was terrible but a blessed relief if truth be told. My wife had no siblings so the selling of their house was down to us so we had to pay once her mum became ill, was a living nightmare because that house was their life's achievement.
 
Some care homes has residents that have physical disabilities but their brains are as sharp as a knife and they are far from a lost cause. I spent many Sunday afternoons in care homes and so I'm speaking from what I saw in 4 different homes as two were shut so we had to spend even more time looking for new accomodation. 

I believe many of you will have had similar experiences. The dilemma is so stark and can be even worse if siblings start to disagree on the course of action for their parent.

We've been through the wringer today (although I'm not complaining as others are in far worse positions).
The nursing home phoned at 11am and said the MIL has gone downhill fast and did my wife want to come & see her.
My wife said are you saying she is likely to die and the reply was yes, although probably not in the next 48 hours.
Apparently, she was totally confused, hadn't eaten for 48 hours, due to constant sickness.

So we spend some considerable time speaking to family & friends, lots of tears and we finally decide we shouldn't visit, due to the obvious risks.

A few hours later my wife phones the home to see if she can talk to her mum.
She talks to her and whilst very garbled, she didn't have her teeth in, but was making sense and knew who she was talking to.

I gesture to my wife for the phone, as she was about to hang up.

I ask the member of staff to confirm that they have COVID-19 in the home.
She enquires as to why I ask and I explain that a doctor apparently phoned my SIL yesterday, advising that there was COVID and whether we wanted her to remain or go to hospital, if she contracts COVID.

She said there's no evidence to say they have COVID and they have no way of knowing as there is no testing.
If a member of staff is unwell they are sent home.

I asked if the MIL possibly had COVID (bearing in mind all of the above) and was told she has no temperature and no cough.

So is my MIL expected to die in the next few days as we were led to believe this morning ?

Answer, no not necessarily, she could last for months, especially if she starts eating again, but is now classified as on end of life care.

She was 92 this week so had a better innings than most, but by God today has been an emotional rollercoaster.

Covered End said:

We've been through the wringer today (although I'm not complaining as others are in far worse positions).
The nursing home phoned at 11am and said the MIL has gone downhill fast and did my wife want to come & see her.
My wife said are you saying she is likely to die and the reply was yes, although probably not in the next 48 hours.
Apparently, she was totally confused, hadn't eaten for 48 hours, due to constant sickness.

So we spend some considerable time speaking to family & friends, lots of tears and we finally decide we shouldn't visit, due to the obvious risks.

A few hours later my wife phones the home to see if she can talk to her mum.
She talks to her and whilst very garbled, she didn't have her teeth in, but was making sense and knew who she was talking to.

I gesture to my wife for the phone, as she was about to hang up.

I ask the member of staff to confirm that they have COVID-19 in the home.
She enquires as to why I ask and I explain that a doctor apparently phoned my SIL yesterday, advising that there was COVID and whether we wanted her to remain or go to hospital, if she contracts COVID.

She said there's no evidence to say they have COVID and they have no way of knowing as there is no testing.
If a member of staff is unwell they are sent home.

I asked if the MIL possibly had COVID (bearing in mind all of the above) and was told she has no temperature and no cough.

So is my MIL expected to die in the next few days as we were led to believe this morning ?

Answer, no not necessarily, she could last for months, especially if she starts eating again, but is now classified as on end of life care.

She was 92 this week so had a better innings than most, but by God today has been an emotional rollercoaster.

A horrible situation for you to go through, I had an aunt in that situation last year, where she could have been gone in days or could have hung on for several months, it would have been awful for her daughters not to be able to visit her during that time

@Covered End, very sorry to hear of your dreadful day - so emotional for everyone.

Don't give up hope - if your MIL has got dehydrated through sickness, other (treatable) things can follow, like urinary tract infections.  I'm sure a care home would be familiar with such things and get her medicated.  I went through several episodes of this with my Mum when she was in her 90s.  Fingers crossed it is something like that, and that she will pick up.  

Dear All

If you are looking after somebody even if they are in a care home or if they live with you but you have paid support then you are an unpaid carer. Go to this website https://carers.org/guidance-coronavirus and find local support networks that specialise in advising unpaid carers, depending on your need they will have advice and perhaps practical support for you.

Remember though this is support for you the (unpaid) carer, not for the sick person who will be/should be getting support through the local authority. You can be an unpaid carer if you a mother/father/son/daughter/neighbour/friend/etc. don't let the word carer put you off, it is just a word that best describes a situation.

Generally a lot of the support you could get (and it would depend on area) would be face to face, obviously that is not possible at the moment but alternative support is being devised (depending on area).

CA

I felt ill Friday 20th March, really achy & lethargic & went to bed early, which I never do.
Days 2 & 3 I got up and felt poorly but not dreadful, until later in the day, when I started to feel worse.
Days 4 & 5 I started to feel freezing cold and had a temperature over 102F.
I took paracetamol and the temperature came down until the paracetamol wore off.
At night I was either freezing cold or waking up baking hot & drenched in sweat.
I started to feel a bit better late on day 6 and by day 7 my temperature was back to normal and I was ok.
My advise would be to do as little as possible and you will likely recover more quickly.
CA it's probable you are not recovering, because you are working as opposed to resting !
Mind you I may have had normal flu as opposed to COVID.