Coronavirus: those high-risk people who are completely cured

For those living with underlying health conditions, the idea of ​​contracting a coronavirus can be terrifying.

But while the numbers may sound grim, there are many people considered to be at high risk who are recovering completely, as I have personally discovered.

Panic took hold of me because I couldn’t catch my breath. All I had done was climb the stairs. Was it the Covid-19? Was it in my house, in my body, in my lungs?

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I have Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune disease which means that my digestive system attacks itself.

It is classified as a “serious underlying health problem” at present.

One of the main treatments is immunosuppressive therapy, drugs that reduce the strength of the body’s immune system, making it more vulnerable to infection.

When the first symptoms of the coronavirus appeared – fever, fatigue – I naively thought: “It is not going so badly”.

When you live with a chronic illness, you live with hindsight. I went through health crises that I wouldn’t want my worst enemy to do – open abdominal operations, the removal of my large intestine and a few scratches with death along the way.

As my temperature soared, my mind was full of questions and horror stories that I had read.

Would I end up in the hospital? Do I need a respirator? Will i die

I didn’t get a chance to get tested, but a doctor suggested it was Covid-19. I was told to hold on and go to the emergency room if my condition worsens.

After eight days, my symptoms got better. My weakened immune system had done a good job.

I am not the only one to have experienced this. There are many people, like me, considered to be at high risk who have fully recovered.

Also look on asymptomatic people:

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“I tried to stay positivefr even if I was scared ”

Khadija, 25, from Leeds, has been living with type 1 diabetes since she was a baby. Her pancreas no longer produces insulin, so an external pump, attached to her stomach, delivers it.

“I was really worried when I learned that I was in the high risk category,” she said. “I told myself that I could have it and that if I had it, I would be afraid”.

Khadija lives with her mother, a nurse who comes in contact with patients with Covid-19, and four weeks ago started to experience some of the symptoms of the virus.

She had “sore bones” and was “really breathless” with chest pain and temperature.

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“At first, I panicked when I had the symptoms. I knew my immune system was not up to par,” she says.

“We talk everywhere about the mortality rate, there was nothing about people who recover and survive. For me, as soon as you enter the hospital with that, you do not leave it alive.”

Paramedics were dispatched to her home, but decided that Khadija did not need to go to the hospital. They suggested that he call 111 to arrange a test, but none was available.

“I tried to keep a positive attitude even if I was afraid,” she says.

A few weeks later, Khadija recovered well.

“I felt safer inside”

Feya, 37, from Manchester, lives with several chronic illnesses including asthma, for which she takes steroids.

Steroids are also a form of immunosuppressants and therefore make you vulnerable to the virus.

Before confinement, Feya felt anxious. News of the virus dominated the media and she had a panic attack while shopping.

“It was the worst I have ever experienced,” she said. “I was not disturbed by the confinement because I felt safer inside.

Two weeks later, Feya felt bad with fatigue and unstable breathing. She visited her attending physician who told her to isolate herself.

But his condition quickly deteriorated – “I was coughing so hard and I was having trouble breathing” and her boyfriend had to call an ambulance.

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“They said if we could go to A&E on our own, that is what we should do because they were very busy.”

Feya stayed in the hospital for five hours, but was not admitted and was not offered a Covid-19 test.

Her symptoms persisted for an additional two weeks, including a second ambulance call, and she felt completely drained of energy for weeks, but recovered slowly.

“I went out for the first time in two months the other day, which was good!”

“You can catch it and have only mild symptoms”

Joe Dunster has nephrotic syndrome, a kidney condition that led to a kidney transplant in 2000. He also takes immunosuppressants.

“When it became clear that the transplant community was part of the high-risk group, of course I had to protect myself, so I went home and locked myself in,” he says.

But that didn’t stop him from developing symptoms of coronavirus. He believes that he may have contracted it from his wife, a doctor, who also fell ill.

“We both suffered from chest tightness. At first we wondered if it was anxiety, but the following weekend I didn’t feel well. I had a wheezing breath and I started coughing. “

Joe also took the temperature and at that time he felt that all of the symptoms were pointing to a coronavirus.

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“The following days, I felt so bad. The coughing and wheezing persisted for 10 days.

He said there was “anxiety” about what it could become, “but I never felt bad enough to worry seriously”.

Slowly, he and his wife recovered.

“It’s good that people realize that you can get this and have only mild symptoms and continue to recover well.”

There is still some uncertainty about the possibility of catching Covid-19 twice, which is why Khadija, Feya, Joe and I continue to stay with us.

Drew Miller Hyndman contributed to this report.

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