– We have a little baby. I had the pleasure of experiencing her from the time she was a newborn until she was one month old. Then I was admitted to hospital, says Peter Lorenzen Borge to Dagbladet.
The 36-year-old thinks it is very sad that he has largely missed the youngest daughter’s development so far in life.
Since he was diagnosed with coronavirus infection on March 10 this year, he has spent a total of 27 weeks in hospital or rehabilitation centers. The longest he has been at home in a row since the virus took him is barely two weeks. Otherwise, it has mostly been a question of short leave.
For the last four weeks he has lived at the CatoSenteret in Son.
On October 28, Dagbladet wrote about new research that shows that cognitive impairment – what the researchers describe as “brain fog” – is quite common among corona patients, many months after undergoing coronavirus infection.
– The study does not explain why such ailments occur or which rehabilitation program is best for the patients, but is important because it helps to map the extent of such ailments. There is obviously a need for more research in this area, said assistant health director Espen Rostrup Nakstad.
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Terminally ill
Peter is one of those who has really also felt the potential long-term effects of coronavirus on the body.
But it started with a bang.
Only days after he and his ten-year-old daughter Louise had visited someone who turned out to be infected, Peter became seriously ill.
– It was very critical. I am one of the few who have received visits to the intensive care unit during the corona, because the doctors thought I could die, says the father of four.
For it was weeks in the intensive care unit and three weeks on the respirator for the active man in his prime. It was about the life of the 36-year-old who did not have an underlying illness before.
– I shatter the myth that young people have to do something else to get so sick from corona, he says.
His father, Tore Borge, says that it was very difficult for the relatives when Peter was on a respirator.
– Rikshospitalet was fantastic. When you call the intensive care unit, they always pick up the phone. We got a sober, balanced presentation of how he was doing. We understood that it was really serious, although we only later understood that they might not be so sure that he would make it, says the father.
While it was at its worst, he set up a group with Peter’s friends where he kept them regularly updated on the condition.
– I experienced it as a nightmare, so for me this became almost like a kind of self-therapy, he says.
SERIOUSLY SICK: Here Peter is in the hospital, just before he needed respiratory treatment. Photo: Private
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– Brain fog
Now, more than seven months after Peter became corona sick, he can only dream back to the active life with work, family activities, boating and cabin life.
For Peter is still very ill. He struggles with breathing, coordination, which is similar to epilepsy, paralysis of the bones, and yes, extensive cognitive impairment, as recent research shows that some corona patients are affected.
– Brain fog, yes, absolutely, daily and many times in a day. The short-term memory is absolutely insane. I can be told things three times in a row, but I have never heard it. I can stand filling the dishwasher, and suddenly I simply do not understand what I am doing, says the 36-year-old.
FRISKIS: But Peter Lorenzen Borge (36) has not yet become the same after corona. Photo: Private
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After the coronavirus infection, he has also struggled with liver problems, inflammation in the body and partial paralysis in the right leg. He has also developed severe sleep apnea and has to sleep with a respirator at night.
He also experiences frequent bouts of what he describes as insane, throbbing headaches.
Afterwards, he is completely knocked out and can sleep for over a day.
In the publication «Prolonged symptoms after covid-19. Quick overview. » from August, the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) concludes the following:
“Many patients reported persistent symptoms six months or more after undergoing covid-19. General symptoms, neurological symptoms and symptoms from the lungs were most common in both hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients, but patients who had been hospitalized generally reported a wider range of symptoms, more symptoms and more severe functional limitations. “
HOVENT: Peter experiences many side effects of corona. Photo: Private
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Coma dreams
Peter is undoubtedly in this category, and still has a long way to go before he eventually gets back his former active life.
– I can walk, but I can no longer swim or run. There is too much in my body to function at the same time for me to master these activities, as it is now.
At the fitness center, the focus is on cardio, strength, balance and relaxation. He also gets help from a psychologist.
– When you are in a coma, you can incur trauma after extreme coma dreams. What you dream of is in a way a reality when you lie there, says Peter.
FIRST AIR TRIP: Peter pictured in fresh air after intensive treatment. Photo: Private
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He believes it is very important that those who experience persistent illness and ailments after coronavirus infection are taken seriously by the authorities and the health service.
– This is very real. I was healthy and active. I am by no means anymore. I also do not know if I will be, says Peter and adds:
– When a car goes down a precipice, it’s not just about screwing it back together. It takes time.
Nurse Aase Høgseth and physiotherapist Rakel Schmidt work at CatoSenteret’s complex rehabilitation department, where the sickest patients are in training.
Until about a month ago, about 80 percent of the places were occupied by corona patients, now about 50 percent.
