Miracles do happen 🙏🏻 Tony - Covid19: 1-0

[MarthaKos]

Hi everyone, I’ve been meaning to write this post for days, but life is very hectic at the moment!!

So after 117 days in hospital Tony is finally home!

Tony is 31yrs old, previously fit and absolutely healthy, no underlying health conditions.

He spent 93 days in ICU, 10 days in a normal ward, and 14 days in rehab. He first showed signs of COVID19 on April 2nd with a very high fever, coughing started after 7 days. He was taken to hospital on April 9th. He was put on a CPAP mask for 5 days before putting him on a ventilator. They gave him 10hrs to live but thankfully he was eligible for ECMO and was put on it within 24hrs of being on the vent. He spent 33 days on ECMO, remained on the vent for a total of 87 days, he was on dialysis for 3 weeks as his kidneys failed, he was on nitric oxide for nearly a month as his heart was not strong, his first tracheostomy clotted and blocked his airway completely, so it had to be removed and he had to be reintubated from the mouth. The second tracheostomy had to be done in the theatre. He had every infection and bug there is out there, including CMV virus, he had a very severe case of acute pancreatitis, his liver failed, he was on a feeding tube for 3 months.

He had to learn to do everything from the beginning as the muscle wastage was phenomenal. It took him three weeks to properly wake up but thankfully the delirium and nightmares wasn’t too bad.

He has developed diabetes and needs insulin twice a day, he is on medication for his heart as his heart rate is high, and he has liver issues which we don’t know yet how severe or if it is permanent. He is left with scars everywhere, but we embrace them, and he actually shows them off 🎉

He is getting stronger everyday, he is just unable to eat too much he is still losing weight and we think it’s due to the liver damage. We take everyday as it comes and we celebrate every victory. A week after being home, where he couldn’t even walk around properly, he’s been climbing the stairs up and down with his weapons (crutches) we go out daily, and we spend most of the day in the garden with the neighbours. Not every day is a good day, and not every moment is pleasant, but he is alive and we are together!

Thank you everyone for helping throughout these awful 4 months, the most horrible of my life. I have met some amazing people here, that I consider friends, and without them I don’t know if I would be calm and content now.

Don’t ever lose hope 💪🏼🙏🏻❤️

[Rach2Sym]

Your story leaves me tearful. My own experience - two weeks intubation/six weeks in hospital - seems insignificant. Walking and fresh air have been my most powerful medicine after the miracles of NHS care. Heartfelt wishes for Tony's future.

[Pmub]

Hi MarthaKos, I'm so pleased to hear that Tony is out at last, I can still remember the posts you wrote during the early times. Your story is a true testament to not giving up even when the odds seem fully stacked against you both.

That was an unbelievable amount of time spent in ICU as well as hospital in general and it's so nice to know that you have each other now to move forward through the recovery stages.

I remember coming out of hospital myself and being so physically weak that all I could manage was five minute walks but the fact that I was out and back in control of my life, more than made up for it.

My kidneys were severely damaged in hospital as well as muscle and nerve damage but through time things have slowly recovered even though the doctors said they might not.

So never underestimate the amount of recovery the human body is capable of I'm sure you know that better than anyone.

I look at life in such a different way now and enjoy it so much more. I know that you and Tony will fully understand that statement after everything you have been through.

Thank you so much for your message letting us know how you are getting on , I'm so glad that you found support from this site as I have and still do.. good luck to you both and lots of love xx

[MarthaKos in reply to Pmub]

Awww thank you so much for your wonderful message! We are definitely looking at life differently now, even though we’re young and some things felt so distant to us, we were so ignorant at times, now we’re trying to enjoy every second of the day, even the bad days!

[Mijmijkey74]

Wow, he's so very lucky to have pulled through all of that. Some of his experiences and health issues resonate strongly with me even though my coma was much much much shorter. My muscle wastage was also phenomenal. Concentration camp starvation victim looking. Weighed just under 4 stone! I was expected to die. I like Tony fought hard and survived. It will be 3 years in January, yet still I'm not fully recovered, but we survived that's most important for all of us who have! I hope Tony keeps on fighting towards further recovery remaining positive. It's a long long and often exhaustive road.

I'm suspected of having had covid last December, yet to be tested. People are foolish who do all mingle together unprotected thinking they are safe. 1 person I knew personally as a close friend died from covid, another died from covid who befriended me during my hospital stay in 2018 & 19 plus ongoing hospital appointments since 2018 up until their death this year. Another died from covid who would have been my uncle had I not been fostered at 18 months old and later adopted by same foster family.

Covid gets the strong and healthy too!