I have been back home a little over a week after spending 16 days at North Houston Memorial for Covid. I have never smoked and aside from being overweight, I have no other health conditions (no high blood pressure or diabetes). I am only 46, so I didn't think that I would have that bad of a time even if I did get it.
I didn't pay attention to the warning signs, but a few days before I got really sick I noticed that I felt fatigued even after a good night's sleep, and my appetite really took a hit. Things didn't taste the same, and what I normally found good to eat I just didn't anymore.
After about 3 days of this, I woke up one morning feeling short of breath, so as soon as the doctor's office opened I scheduled a teleconference for later in the day. My symptoms still were not that bad, but He suggested that I get tested, and I was able to get it done that afternoon. Three days later the doc called and said I was positive. Until then I had managed to get by with the coughing and whatnot by taking it easy, and not doing anything strenuous. The next day (I think it was) I got up from taking a mid-afternoon nap and my wife said I was shaking and was unresponsive when she tried to talk to me, so she called the ambulance and off I went (probably ran low on O2 in the brain). I don't remember that part very well, but after she got me to the chair (while waiting for the paramedics), I got my wits back. It was probably a good thing she got me to the hospital, because for the first week I kept getting worse, according to the docs. They pumped me full of drugs and thankfully I did not have to be intubated, but it was a close thing. At my worst, they had me on 15L of O2/minute which, I am told, is quite a lot.
Thankfully, neither my wife nor my kids came down with the illness or, if they did, it was so minor that it didn't seem to affect them. They even got tested after I got my results back and they came up negative.
I am still on supplemental O2 at home, but I find I can spend a little more time each day without it, so I am slowly recovering. I would not wish this on anyone, and if you think you may have it or may have been exposed, get tested as soon as you can arrange it.
