A week in November I went down very quickly, followed by my girlfriend a day later, with what we thought was flu.
We didn’t get out of bed or eat anything for six days with a cough that drove us to distraction.
In december i lost my sweet dear father who didn’t respond to antibiotics and a ventilator in intensive care he died from sepsis
We assumed it was flu – but was it?
There were no checks as the dreaded word “coronavirus” hadn’t been mentioned yet...
Dear Mark,
I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your father. Seasonal flu is often taken as being akin to the common cold but when you actually have it, you know it's very different indeed and despite vaccinations, does claim the lives of a significant number of people every year.
There has been a great deal of work done in the past ten years to promote the recognition and early treatment of Sepsis, but this too is responsible for around 50,000 deaths a year in the UK.
With so much focus on COVID-19 at the moment, it's not surprising that people are worried, but all the usual bugs are also still around and will continue to affect large numbers of individuals (though less than normal thanks to the increased awareness of the need for good hygiene and social distancing).
The World Health Organisation website has further information about this who.int/news-room/q-a-detai...
Hi ICUsteps-Peter, Thanks for your comment. I believe COVID-19 has probably been in the UK since november but of course doctors didnt know about then as the China goverment were very late giving out the info. I do believe my father died of it sadly as the time line seems to fit roughly around the time this awful virus first came out and i dont believe in coincidences, also would explain why none of the antibiotics worked on my father. Another very strange thing this about this virus is how very few children have died from it, some people think the reason so many elderly people have died from COVID-19 is because the flu vaccine of 2019 was different then all previous vaccines and gave the elderly the COVID-19? It a very interesting point as my dad had the flu vaccine only a few days before going into hospital so who knows, i guess we never will...
It’s always difficult for us not to confuse correlation with causation.
Winter time is full-on flu season and also when vaccinations are given.
A cockerel crows at sunrise everyday but it doesn’t cause the sun to rise everyday.
You will probably never know the cause of your Father’s death, I am sorry for you for this. The awful thing is that all our families will probably not have seen the end of this tragedy.
I hear what you are saying Sepsur but i really believe my father had COVID-19 in December as a lot of us did. The strange thing is though knowing all this now has helped me in a way because at least i know now why my father couldnt be saved.
I’m so very sorry for the loss of your beloved father Mark.
I also think this has been around for a lot longer than Is being documented.
In early January, I had a horrible cough and high temperature over 3 days of 39.
I never get a high temperature and didn’t know what It was, but remember just going to bed for 3 days.
It went as quickly as It came but left it’s marj where I had no energy for ages afterwoods.
My husband and kids had the same.
I also feel the same and dubious about the flu jab.
My husband was critically ill in ICU in Feb last year with septic shock through peritonitis.
He recovered and had one last op In January this year.
A Dr at his practice later gave him the flu jab, which I was concerned about.
I’m not one for conspirisys but there’s more to this than meets the eye.
Thank you Rubyshoes48. More then meets the eye indeed! Thank god you and family are well now. Yes this flu jab was changed last year so i would like to know the figures of those that had it and were ok and those that werent after having it...
I know what you mean. I flew back to the UK last November. After Two days I came down with this horrendous cough, and high fever at night. The Dr over there would not give me ABX. I still felt the effects from it weeks later when I returned. I re searched back because of what’s going on now and the first case in China was November. Who knows? and I doubt if we will ever know. Catherine.
As you know mark, I was also very sick around the same time as your father. My flu swab was negative, my atypical pneumonia test was negative, I didn’t have any response to broad spectrum antibiotics and my tests were negative for rhinovirus, MERS, SARS and other common viruses.
My respiratory physician is still trying to work out what caused my sudden, life threatening illness. I had 6 tubes of blood taken this month at my appointment to rule out everything from autoimmune disease to cancer. My consultant actually suggested Coronavirus to me as being a possible diagnosis.
I don’t know what to think. All I know is that I was unwell for a while with ongoing cough and high temperature which I began to feel better from 4 days prior to being admitted. I woke up on Friday 13th December with an awful sore throat, felt as if I was swallowing razor blades. This was the start of my temperature going up to 39.5 and me feeling probably the worst I have ever felt in my life. I was admitted straight to ITU from resus in A&E on Sunday 15th December and was on a ventilator less than 2 hours after arriving at the hospital.
They didn’t expect me to survive as I just wasn’t getting better and I was needing a lot ventilator support. One day, I started to spike such high temperatures in ITU that they stuck a cooling blanket on me. When I started spiking temperatures, I gradually started to recover. They brought me round Christmas Day & I can honestly say I had no cough, sore throat etc.
I may never know what happened to me but I’ve just got to concentrate on the things I do know at the moment. I was very sick, almost died but I’m alive. There’s so many things I’ve just had to learn to accept like not knowing every detail of what happened to me, missing time with my kids that I will never get back etc. Sometimes you just don’t know unfortunately.
I know it’s hard for you and I would be exactly the same if it was my Dad. Just make sure you keep yourself safe and stay in as much as you can. Believe me, you don’t want a trip to ITU! I think it’s honestly the most physically and psychologically traumatic thing that has ever happened to me.
V xx
I am so happy you made a full recovery Vicky and that you are young lady that was able to do it as someone in there 70's would never have made it. I really think that you had COVID-19 as quite a few people did have in December in uk but of course was not documented at the time. Sending my love to you and your family
Mark xx
Hi Mark,
This is something I've wondered too. Mid Dec I had sudden chest tightness and flu symptoms, 4 days in bed with temp, ill, utterly fatigued, then it lifted and I thought quickest flu ever as getting better. Few days later lost voice, very weak, coughing, cold sores, dragged self to doc, said bit congestion in lungs but should be ok, antibiotics given, spent next few weeks having to try to sleep sitting up (no way), exhausted, couldn't eat, couldn't drink much, went off tea and everything except weak soup/stock and odd spoonfuls of mashed potato. Could hear deep groaning noises in chest when exhaled.
Could hardly walk room to room. At one point slightly confused, thought this must be what it's like to die and if so am ok with that, it's fine.
During this time had to go back to GP and could hardly speak was so exhausted and couldn't explain how bad it was. Could only get shallow breaths in, every time breathed in my body 'racked' and forced the breath back out, couldn't even yawn but same happened. Couldn't get a breath during constant coughing bouts, now productive of yellow sputum (after a struggle)
Did think about hospital but figured it's Xmas and am not 'gasping for breath' so didn't know if that was breathlessness or not. 6 weeks later, first time out, walked a short distance and felt very ill, about to pass out, turned grey. Had to go to A&E with heart rate of 210bpm for over an hour and have adenosine to reset my heart, essentially stopping and restarting it. Was given oxygen at hospital and chest xrayed but by that time clear (I think). Diagnosed SVT.
I know it was Flu season and have had flu before, also had chest infection few years ago. But even at the time I thought this was odd, said so to doc and checked health authority reports expecting to see this was doing the rounds. Didn't see it. Did hear of few people having similar but to lesser extent except for a colleague's elderly father who died.
Told GP that it was like flu first then chest infection he just said you didn't have blood test.
The symptoms are EXACTLY the same as what am reading about CV, even to the point of being bi-phasic and make me think I should have gone to hospital then as realise how ill I actually was, CV or not. Wish the antibody test was available as I could be out helping others if knew it actually had been that.
Hi Mpower, judging by what you are saying i really believe you had it! but thank god was one of the lucky ones. Have a good lady friend who works part time in a designer clothes shop in the west end and she has been working there for 17 years, anyhow around last november and december so many of the staff fell really ill and couldnt come back to work for weeks and most of there customers are chinese, go figure...and she said she has never seen anything like that in the 17 years she has been there.
Am reading now that intelligence wise it was indeed known about last November (in China and US) so am presuming it was known about here too but not identified as no testing done and I think for some who may have had it the initial days may have been pretty isolated anyway thus not symptomatic spread. I know of people with it just now whose families have been tending to them yet they didn't show any signs of infection. If you are interested at all in the ongoing issues around this Dr John Campbell on youtube is a good reliable source (although has not discussed early possibilities).
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