The testimony of the Nicaraguan Samir Saavedra Obregón, 49, who became ill of Covid-19 seriously and survived, after several days admitted to the Vivian Pellas Hospital."In the week I spread I was going to get vaccinated," he explains.With authorization we share the full text he wrote to sensitize the population regarding pandemic.
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My story can be yours.First of all, I want to thank God first for his mercy to have me here and thanks to all, to medical staff, family, friendships and anonymous people that I do not know, who manifested in some way for my recovery.
On Monday, August 16, the first symptoms with a slight flu began.I had them during Monday and Tuesday, but on Wednesday they disappeared.At that time, my wife, 35 -week pregnant, already had the most pronounced symptoms and had lost the smell.There we realized that we are infected with the COVID-19.
On Thursday 19 and Friday, August 20, I began to present cough symptoms, itching in my throat, so I decided to take ivermectin, azithromycin and larathadin.Then the doctors who attended me explained that these medicines, it has been proven that they do not help at all, especially with the new Delta variant, so they are no longer part of the Covid-19 treatment scheme.
On Saturday 21 they started persistent fever above 38.3 degrees that forced me to stay in bed.My wife got an appointment with Dr. Carlos Hernández, who attends at Vivian Pellas Hospital.The doctor was very direct, he explained that COVID-19 is like a common flu, but stronger in 85% of people, and that symptoms should be treated as they appear.
The doctor emphasized that how far we were in the disease, he should not take any antibiotic type.He sent me to be alert to alarm symptoms and these could be: persistent heaters over 38.4 and oxygen level below 92.Also, we were in communication with Dr. Leonel Arguello, who was always attending our calls and his recommendations coincided with Dr. Hernández.
The fever continued from Saturday 21 to Tuesday, August 24, also presenting: diarrhea and moderate vomiting.Already for that time Dr. Hernández expressed his concern because he was no longer like that "rebel warm.
Reality overflowed us
On Thursday, August 26 at night, my oxygen level began to lower.Dr. Leonel Argüello recommended that I had to connect to an oxygen tank and emphasized that we should monitor that saturation should not go down from 90, otherwise, I had to go emergency to the hospital.At that time, we had the results of the exam battery that Dr. Hernández had sent me, who called us at about ten o'clock at night to tell us that I was entering a high -risk stage, all the resultsThey left super elevated.Ferritin came out in more than 1,500 (normal is up to 400);The PCR came out in more than 100 (normal is up to 5);And the rest of the exams by the clouds.
Faced with this reality, Dr. Hernández made the right decision to send me antibody to help me lower the inflammation levels he had.Another examination was still pending, more specialized, that I had sent me whose result would be ready the next day.On Friday, August 20, the antibodies put me, I keep oxygen all the time, but I spent a very bad night, because the cough returned me with more force.
In the early hoursCovid had caused him to have fungus in the lungs.The result was positive.
Dr. Hernández told me textually: “Samir this is very serious.You need emergency hospitalization already.Today they have to start treatment but you will complicate more than you are already ".
In an instant I experienced the same as Jonathan's rival batters Loáisig.
At that time I knew that, the walk that had been calm with the COVID-19 being part of that 85% of people who are presented as a strong common flu, had been left behind, now it was the Covid was threatening to take a walkBy the Valley of Death.
The first stop
That same Saturday 28, just dawned, we enlisted the essential and went to the hospital where I am assured looking for the treatment for the fungus that I had to start if I wanted to survive, and it is at that time that I faced the reality of the Nicaraguan health system.
The Integral Health Hospital attended me well since I arrived.On other occasions I had resorted to this hospital and care has always been very good, I do not complain, I think the work that the medical staff is doing is heroic.The problem is that ‘Covid patients’ are managed by INSS policies and as in every crisis, I think there are many things that can be improved, such as what I am going to describe below:
1.When I am with the doctor who received me and is questioning me to explain the symptoms.I am with oxygen, anxious and very worried because in my mind I just want them to put the treatment and ask myself, if they see that a patient cannot even talk about the lack of oxygen, why do they attract it with questions?
2.When the doctor asks me if they already did the swab.I am seeing annoying and I say textually: “Are you hinting that I have no covid?I looked that I walk with oxygen, when they put me to this room they put a suit and the stroke was screaming: patient, patient!And everyone turned away.I come here to this hospital to put the treatment to treat the fungus that I have in my lungs.
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3.And here comes Jonathan Loáisig.It tells me that this treatment is out of the INSS coverage, which has to ask for a request to see if they authorize it.So, I asked where could I buy it?To apply it to me, to which he replied that the procedure was not so, that I had to wait for the yes or not of the Simón Bolívar pharmacy.
A life or death decision
Every day we make decisions, some without much importance, other transcendentals, but there are decisions that are life or death and that was the one I took after the conversation with the doctor.
I do not know if it ever happened to them that they are sure that something bad will happen to them if they do not take a certain action and that happened to me.I was 100% sure if I stayed there, it wouldn't go alive.It's something I can't explain, I just know that I felt that was going to happen.
So, after talking to the doctor who received me at the Integral Health Hospital, I got out of bed, took off my oxygen and went out to the hall where the nurses were, all were concentrated working and waited a few seconds that for me were an eternityBecause he was without oxygen, until a lady came out and called her with her arm.I had to return to the room by oxygen, because I couldn't take it anymore.
That lady was an angel sent by God because I asked him to lend me a cell phone to call my wife, within a few minutes she returned with the cell phone.I called my wife and I only told him: "Love take me out of here, but you're going to get me dead, I don't get to Monday,".
Two hours later there were the cameilleros of the Vivian Pellas hospital, taking me in the ambulance to the hospital.Upon entering the emergency entrance, they took me straight to make a thorax tomography to see how the lungs were and I already had almost 70% of the two lungs, additionally had pneumonia and asthma.
In the Valley of Death
This is the hardest part of my experience with this disease and is one of the reasons that have motivated me to tell you my story.
When I entered the room of the Hospital Vivian Pellas, they put me upside down, they call him “Prono position”, to help me breathe better, but what I did not know is that if I tried to move my head or leg or try to move aroundsmall that was the movement I escaped me and felt a great despair in search of oxygen that I did not find it.
That sense of lack of oxygen is indescribable.I was in a prone position, without moving approximately 30 hours, from the first hours a back pain was hit in one of the vertebrae of the lower part of the column, the sensation was as if it had a nail permanently stuck.
There are times when God gives us the opportunity to put ourselves alone with him, to be prepared to what comes, I had the opportunity to do so and in those long hours the our father and Ave Mary prayed again and again, looking for a littleof comfort in the pain of the back that was unbearable to me and the prayer that I like the most, and that I repeated it many times: Lucas: 18,13 “Lord have mercy on me that I am a sinner”.
Textually I told Jesus, that “if my time had arrived I accepted it without denying, that I thanks him for everything he had given me, I only asked that my children were men and women of good, that I gave strength to my wife and my family".After that, the hours passed and passed but the pain kept supporting, I am sure that Jesus gave me that strength to endure such a pain.
Another great scare
On Sunday, August 29, Dr. Hernández arrived with good news, the antibodies that put me before being hospitalized had worked and the PCR had dropped from more than 100 to 26, that was excellent news.I was very happy, but always anxious because I had been sleeping for almost three days.
At half an hour that Dr. Hernández was gone, they took me food and wanting to join the bed to eat, because I had not feeding two days, that movement caused me lack of oxygen.That situation made me cough a lot and a crisis that made me vomit, but my great scare was that I vomited a lot of blood.I got very nervous, the nurses started running, I asked for oxygen, the doctor on duty chatted with Dr. Hernández and took photos.Everything was chaos.
Then the doctor approached me and said: "Samir, I know this is difficult, but we need to calm down, try to breathe because if we are not going to have to take the ICU to Intubarte".
From that warning, I threw my bed face down and spent ten hours without moving until I completed 30 hours, then they gave me a sleeping pill and the next day I gradually started having improvement.
Now that I'm better.I want to thank each person who was praying for my recovery.To the heroes: health personnel, because of the role they are currently playing that it is not only to help and attend, but in transmitting hope that is the most important thing because it is a disease that you live in solitude.I want to make public the names of the people who helped me.
With this testimony, what I want is that we become aware of how terrible this disease can be, my most important recommendation:
1.If they have a patient with COVID-19, with several days of fever and this exam canTo request in time, this disease does not expect, every minute counts.
2.If oxygen levels go down, you have already left 85% of people whose COVID attacks them as a common flu, and enter a stage that can quickly be complicated if they do not make decisions quickly.
With all thanks, Samir Saavedra Obregón
*This story was published by Samir Saavedra Obregón on his Facebook profile.