5 minute read
COVID Recovery
Scribe: WO2 P M Chambers – WOIC 2 Mercian LAD REME
Iam 6 foot 8 inches tall and around twenty stone (130kg give or take), anyone who knows me will testify that I’m a “Giant”. I pass all fitness tests and I’m probably the fittest 20 stone bloke you’ll ever meet (barring England RFU team members).
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I want to share my experience with the Corps that I love, so that it might help even just one of you get through this. I’ll be as brief as possible because I think we’ve all had enough of it, I certainly have. This article seeks to do a few things, firstly tell my story to give the benefit of my experience so that you can pass it on to those “Covid deniers” that we all come across from time to time. Also, to give you an idea of the impact it can have on not just you, but your families and finally to thank the people who got me through it.
I did a lateral flow test on Thursday afternoon in the CQMS dept before heading home for a long weekend, I passed the test and headed off. When I got home, I thought my dinner didn’t taste of anything special, but didn’t think anything of it. That night I had horrendous fever, cold sweats, temperature, shivering, all the signs of a decent flu kicking in. My Wife insisted I do another LFT test even though I had done one the day before, guess what…?
A PCR test hastily booked that same day confirmed I had Covid and I settled in for a fantastic 10 days of forced rest, meals in bed, films and maybe a little X-Box time. The symptoms ramped up slowly, more fever, headaches, temperature, increasing difficulty breathing until after 5 days I agreed that perhaps all the Paracetamols and Ibuprofens I had accumulated weren’t cutting it. The first ambulance said I was a borderline case and I told
CPAP Treatment Arrival at York Hospital for Triage
them I could handle it without hospital treatment providing it doesn’t get worse. They left me with strict instructions to call if I deteriorate any further. 36 hours later at 0500 in the morning, becoming delirious having had little sleep due to difficulty breathing, my distraught Wife called the ambulance, who took me into hospital with signs of pneumonia and possibly sepsis(?). I could barely walk at that point, I had neither the strength nor the lung capacity to move my body more than a few feet.
They tell you that people die from Covid with no under-lying symptoms. What they fail to mention is that you need to have a reasonable level of cardio-vascular fitness to survive the treatment. If your lungs are not strong enough to manage the treatment, then it ends very badly. I’m not trying to tell a horror story, just my personal experience. The treatment for me was horrendous; The CPAP machine is basically a low-pressure oxygen pump that forces air into the airway while you are conscious (as opposed to a ventilator when unconscious). I spent 5 days and nights with a pressurised mask secured to my face. Only disconnecting for meals and toilet breaks (that’s another horror story).
Undoubtedly the CPAP treatment and the professionalism of the NHS staff saved my life, make no mistake, Covid-19 was trying to take my life. The mental robustness that the military instils gave me the strength to dig in when I was suffocating in the middle of the night. This happened multiple times and I’m not ashamed to say I was terrified, I thought I would black-out and
never wake up. The Nurse would hold my hand and coach me through the very worst moments of my life, I can’t thank them enough.
At home, my Wife and two children could only sit and worry. No visitors allowed. Dad and husband communicating via text (my voice had completely disappeared due to CPAP) in between sleep and some days without the strength to lift my arms to pick up the phone. The effect it has had on my family is now my biggest concern, it has left mental scars. I made it through and came out the other side renewed with a positivity that I had beaten it. Covid did its very best, almost won. At times I thought it had me, but my body fought it off. I was powerless, it didn’t matter what I decided in my mind. My body would either win or it wouldn’t, I was a passenger. Luckily, I had my fitness and it carried me through.
I was in hospital for 10 days in total. They’re a bit of a blur now, I remember how horrendous the feeling of suffocating was and its left me with a little anxiety about feeling breathlessness again. I needed someone to tell me its ok to feel that way. Someone to check me over and say, “go for it”, get back into PT, your lungs have healed, its safe, you won’t suffocate doing exercise. Three months later I attended DMRC in Stanford Hall for a post-Covid assessment reserved only for those worst affected. I’ve been given the all-clear and which now leaves me having to shift all that excess weight I gained post-covid, but I’ll dig-in and get back to fitness.
Having reviewed this over and over in my mind, there are many small events that conspired to save my life and get me back to normality. My Wife for calling an ambulance, I would stupidly have carried on suffering unnecessarily. The Paramedics who attended me, the Doctors who triaged and treated me, the Nurses who held my hand, the physio who started my recovery, the team at DMRC who do amazing work, the list goes on and on. I will never be able to repay some of these debts and thank you seems a very small phrase.
I try to see my experience as a positive one, despite the horror at the time. The Corps had “Lifting the decks”, well I’ve just lifted mine for all to see. My name is on the top of this article, I’ve left lots of details out and if you want to discuss your own experiences with someone outside your CoC who understands, hit CTRL K and drop me a line.
Post CPAP Oxygen reduction
We need your Friendship Stories!
Have you formed life-long or lasting friendships at REME? Are your REME friends like family?
In celebration of National Friendship Day, we will be telling the stories of friendships formed within the REME Family in the July issue of The Craftsman. Whether you are a Retired, Reserve or Regular, we want to hear your stories (and include a photo!)
