Reflections of a COVID-19 Patient – Part 1

two Happy Birthday tunes, went to the cloak room for my winter jacket, and phoned my son, Reis, for a ride home – without having the chance, after all, to say hello to the guest of honour.

Too late, contagion had turned real

It was too late by Saturday morning at home on March 4th. Not quite 48 hours after the Fort Garry event my apprehension of contagion had turned real. I had developed a sore throat, was coughing almost incessantly, had sniffles, registered low-grade fever, lost my appetite, had a dull headache, and felt drowsy and weak. I tested positive with the rapid antigen test.

Vacillation over vigilance meant COVID mishap

Unquestionably, I let my guard down. Against my better judgement, I vacillated rather than remain vigilant. I should have been steadfast and not joined the big social gathering indoors. Worse, not only did I get infected, but I also brought the COVID virus to my wife, Gloria, and our son. Towards the end of the first week, he tested positive, too, followed by Gloria a few days later.

Self-care and monitoring at home

I isolated myself in our basement, now turned into an infirmary for my sole use, since I was the only one sick on March 4th. We followed all the infection control measures, fully masked and diligent with hand hygiene and other non-pharmaceutical control measures. Gloria and our son took turns alternately visiting me downstairs to ensure I had my symptomatic treatment for fever and cough. She periodically checked my temperature for a more precise reading of the fever level and applied a cold compress cloth on my forehead and around the sides of the neck when the fever was above 38 degrees centigrade. This gave me comfort and less headache. They saw to it my nutrition, hydration and alertness were maintained. They supplied me with a soft diet of arroz caldo, fruit juices, a jug of ice water, high protein Ensure, fruit loop and frosted flakes cereals. Since I was only able to comfortably take small servings, I took them as often as I could.

Monitoring for supplemental oxygen, sans gadgets

One difficult part was monitoring the need for supplemental oxygen without the aid of machines and gadgets. I did this calmly, conscious at all times of the so-called “S-shaped” Oxygen-Hemoglobin Dissociation Curve and the clinical implications of its sudden shift to the clinical status of the patient. This was drilled into us when I was a medical intern at the Philippine General Hospital and during my postgraduate medical training abroad. I only had my fingers to check my pulse rate and rhythm, my watch to count my breaths per minute, and my vintage stethoscope to listen to my heartbeat. Sometimes I did not want to know what I was hearing.

I alerted Gloria to periodically watch my nostrils for flaring when I was asleep. Flaring of the alae nasi suggest laboured breathing. We had reversal of roles when she took ill.

For a solid week, I had no pep, not even to listen to and watch the news. The cycle of signs and symptoms did not begin to abate until into the beginning of the second week. To remain high in spirit, I reminded myself often to think: “Every day without worsening is a day towards recovery.”

Exposure of family members; antiviral drug I had no illusion after I tested

ANNE CAPRICE B. CLAROS

CLEMENTE FERNANDEZ

GERRY GAMUROT

ACERON GARCIA

NOLASCO GARRIDO

MICHELE MAJUL-IBARRA

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CHERYL DIZON REYNANTE

TIM ST. VINCENT

MICHAEL SCOTT positive that Gloria and our son had already been exposed to the virus. In fact, he tested positive by the end of the first week and Gloria followed suit within the subsequent few days. Younger and fully vaccinated and able to take the antiviral, Paxlovid, for the first five days of his symptoms, he has since recovered almost fully.

Gloria and I could not take the Paxlovid, per our family doctor’s advice, for fear of untoward interactions with our regularly needed underlying medications. Nonetheless, I feel much better now, as of March 27. Gloria has to catch up in her recovery yet.

Efficacy of face masks and amazing power of vaccines

We can further bear witness to the efficacy of face masks –although not 100 per cent absolute – since we had been spared the disease during the nearly oneyear wait before vaccines became available.

Foremost and fortunately, all three of us, including the rest of the immediate family members, had been up to date with our COVID vaccines. While they were not able to protect us from the infection and the disease – we knew this was not the design nor the claim for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines – they were able, as designed, to prevent the disease from becoming severe and lifethreatening. This is particularly worth noting since Gloria and I are

REGINA RAMOS URBANO

RON URBANO

WEBER Youth Contributors

Ng Ating Kabataan (ANAK) Philippine Correspondents:

FERMIN extremely at high-risk due to our senior age and concomitant use of some medications that disqualify us from using the Paxlovid antiviral drug. We can attest, indeed, to the “amazing power” of the vaccines as ICU doctor Brian Garibaldi of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine so aptly said in a recent interview.

Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) makes the following recommendations:

• Anyone who did not get a COVID-19 booster shot in the fall of 2022 should get one as soon as possible.

• The following groups of people at a high risk of serious illness from COVID-19 and, therefore, should get another COVID-19 bivalent booster shot in the spring:

1. Aged 80 and older;

2. Aged 65 to 79 living in long-term care homes or other congregate living situations (particularly those who’ve never had COVID); and rights reserved. Annual subscription rate within Canada: $65.00.

3. Aged 18 and older who are immunocompromised.

• Everyone gets an additional dose of the vaccine six months after one’s most recent shot or six months after one was last sick with COVID.

• The NACI is currently not recommending an additional bivalent booster for the general population this spring.

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Dingdong Dantes returns to primetime TV

Dantes makes his biggest and highly anticipated comeback to the small screen in the upcoming series, Royal Blood

From the creator of Widows’ Web, Ken de Leon, and the brilliant mind of RJ Nuevas, GMA Network is proud to present another murder mystery drama that will surely keep the viewers on the edge of their seats.

Royal Blood follows the story of Napoy (Dingdong), a loving single father who struggles to provide for his daughter’s needs by working as a motorcycle rider. He is also the bastard son of a business tycoon.