How On Earth Did We Become A COVID Couple??

Well, here we go again on a bit of a roller-coaster.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband was given a diagnosis of Alzheimers disease, and we have been working through the implications of this insidious disease and thinking about our future needs as a result.

One thing is definite we want to stay together, even if that ends up being in a care accommodation situation. We just can’t imagine not being by each other’s side.

When as a couple you both have chronic illness, it’s a bit like being on a see-saw. We seem take it in turns to focus on our health issues and one of us generally lands on the ground while the other is stuck up in the air waiting to be lowered back down as soon as possible. It’s like we are so in sync our diseases seem to know they really can’t flare substantially at the same time.

This week, I was left up in the air, and I think I might be sitting there for a little while!

I saw my lovely pain management specialist a couple of days ago. She really is such a caring angel. As a result ( and I saw this coming), I’m being admitted to the hospital on the 13th of May for a complete medical review from a team of specialists ( at least seven). Or I thought I was. That date may need to be pushed back to June or July due to unforseen circumstances!

My Pain Management Specialist/Rehab Specialist is worried about all the things going on with me at the moment, and that was even before one of the most unexpected diagnoses was added to my list.

In particular, she’s concerned about some of my white blood cell counts, an issue with my sternoclavicular, my Diabetes, my very large abdominal wall hernia and small bowel involvement, collapsed spine, increased breakthrough pain, suspected fungal skin rash on my abdomen and the list goes on.

Admitting me to the hospital is the easiest way for my doctors to investigate, diagnose me, treat, and coordinate the entire team to hopefully work on the same page.

I’m concerned about leaving my husband at home without me, but we do have wonderful friends and neighbours who I know will keep an eye on him. That’s a comfort as I think I might have a long hospital stay ahead of me this time once admitted.

Could Life Get Any Crazier? Oh That’s Right COVID Is Still A Thing!

As we began working through the Alzheimers diagnosis and my upcoming hospital admission, we thought we were doing so well accepting these challenging circumstances. We almost felt settled knowing what lay ahead and being able to create a plan of action to manage it all.

Life could settle a little now, so we thought. What else could happen? Surely we had enough to deal with.

Never say never. I awoke on Friday morning to my husband sounding really unwell with a sinister sounding cough. He had just had his annual flu shot a couple of days before, and I thought maybe he was having a reaction. I had a surprising reaction this year with a cough and sore throat, and I knew friends who had similar side effects for the first time.

However, his cough sounded different. It sounded serious, and we were both worried he might have pneumonia.

I had two COVID RAT tests in the cupboard, and I thought maybe we should test just to be safe, never expecting it to really be an issue.

He’s had five vaccines and had never had it before. Neither had I.

We decided we’d test on Saturday if he was still unwell.

We Never Expected What Happened Next!

Long story as short as possible, life got complicated on the weekend.

Here’s the timeline:

• Saturday morning- Peter woke up really unwell with a terrible worsening cough. I decided we should definitely both do the RATs test. He was positive (despite being fully vaccinated and never having it before.
• My test was negative .
• We isolated, and he moved into the guest room, and I managed to get him antivirals through an online doctor after much Googling.
• Sunday morning, he was even worse. He didn’t want me to ring an ambulance, and he was a little better in the afternoon, so I decided just to keep monitoring him.
• Sunday evening around 10.30 pm, I heard a huge thud from the guest room. I raced ( I know on broken bones is crazy) to see what had happened. There was vomit everywhere, and he was unconscious on his knees with his head banged into a hard wooden arm of a chair. He was continuing to vomit but unresponsive. It was so scary. I had to get to the phone on the other side of the house asap through pure adrenalin to ring OOO.
• When I got back to the room, he was lifeless, and I remember saying; “Sweetheart are you dead?” I will never forget that moment!
• He came around eventually and was very confused and still vomiting.
• The ambulance finally arrived, and he was taken to hospital.
• Our beautiful neighbour came over while we waited for the ambulance and monitored Peter and she stayed into the early hours of Monday morning to clean up all the vomit, and we detoxed the room as safely as possible.
• We were at it until around 2am, but we managed to eventually eradicate the horrific smell.
• By 2.30am I realised I had no idea which hospital they had taken my husband to. My heart sank….I had lost my husband and he was in a critical condition.
• I rang two hospitals and they didn’t have him! I was starting to panic a little. I asked the last hospital I phoned if there was a number for the ambulance I could call that wasn’t 000. They said; “Oh that’s a good idea.”
• I couldn’t believe their response but I was so grateful they found a number for me.
• I finally found him, and the ambulance service was more than a little embarrassed that I hadn’t been told where he was.
• When I did get the right hospital I managed to find out he was in critical care, he was struggling to breath and had “Covid lungs”. I was able to say a quick hello to him on the phone at 3.30am which gave me some comfort.
• Monday morning, after 1 hour of sleep, I woke with a sore throat. By Monday night, I had the hacking cough and a sinus infection.
• I did a RATS test on Tuesday, and it came up positive immediately with a super strong line.
• I immediately rang my GP. He was unfortunately away sick but his colleague  rang me and prescribed the following:
  • Lagevrio (Antiviral)
  • Doxycycline 
  • Ondansetron if needed
  • Buesonide puffer
  • She also wanted me to increase Pred to 50mg for 5 days, but I was a bit scared to do that as I always have so much trouble tapering, so I increased to 40mg instead.
• She advised if I had blue lips or shortness of breath to ring 000.
• I also organised for a  registered nurse to come in each day given that I was not well at all and was going to be home alone. We had  no idea when Peter would be allowed home.

We Are A “COVID Couple”

Thankfully, my husband’s condition stabilised enough to come home after 5 days in hospital. He remains stable but is still very unwell.

I’m a few days behind him in my journey and very unwell. This is an awful virus when it hits you hard.

We have no idea where we got it from. We’ve never had it before and are fully vaccinated. It looks like a new strain might be going around.

To my chronic illness friends, please be careful. Please be extra careful.

COVID is still alive and well, and it’s doing its best to knock us down…or worse.

If you are generally healthy and think it’s “much ado about nothing,” that’s just wrong. The vulnerable, the disabled and those with weakened immuned systems need protection.

Even if you don’t agree with vaccinations, just keeping hands sanitised and staying home if you are sick makes a huge difference in containing any viral outbreak.

I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of the vision of my husband slumped half on the floor, with his head slammed into the hard arm of the chair, unconscious and vomiting while unresponsive. I’ve never been so scared in all my life.

I am so blessed to have him home. We so nearly lost him!.

That vision is the reality of this insidious disease.

Take care everyone.

Sam xx

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you;

Isaiah 41v10

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