My Terrifying Experience Seeing My Husband Fight CoronaVirus

My husband works as a nurse, and because of that I always worried about his risk of getting Coronavirus. It was heart-breaking enough to hear about his recovery from cancer of when he was just three years old, after undergoing a serious operation, and them seeing him suffer from chronic pain issues after his car crash a few years back. However, as he is usually healthy and very protective with his health, even he thought he'd never get the virus. The hospital where he works has good measures in place, and he is strict on hygiene and social guidance so we thought it would be enough.

A few weeks ago, he developed a dry cough but it wasn't continuous, even though he had a mild temperature spike. He checked these symptoms out, and he was advised to not go to work and isolate by the NHS online system. He did that, but at the end of that period the symptoms disappeared, so he went back to work. Within a week of going back, his cough came back, but to start with, it wasn't dry or continuous. Within an hour, that same night, his cough worsened, and within seconds he couldn't breathe well, and food tasted like 'metal' to him. He became exhausted within seconds of these events, and he suddenly stopped drinking followed by complete exhaustion, so I called for help, and he was advised to test at a centre, however the centre couldn't book him in straight away.

On the day my husband was supposed to be tested, everything happened fast. He decided to try a bath. He managed to get in the bath, but when he got out, his right side weakness which was left behind by the cancer had been affected, and he had to crawl from the bathroom to the bedroom. By the time he got into bed, he was feeling dizzy, nauseous and completely exhausted to a point where though he felt thirsty, he could barely drink, and he could only take a few sips. I tried desperately to get fluid down him, but he couldn't taste it, and he was asleep within minutes of taking a small sip. His eyesight started playing up severely, and everything was blurry to him, he was also literally crippled in pain, so he didn't manage to get to the car, he had to be transported for the test, and taken to hospital. He had a weak negative. The hospital rehydrated him and sent him home the next day because of the risk of spreading the virus. One problem the hospital did have, was that his veins kept collapsing due to dehydration.

No sooner had my husband come home, than he was back in. He was still unable to walk properly, and he was quite weak and still in pain. He was more tired, and his breathing was worse, especially when he was laid down. He was also still having problems with fluid and food. It got to a point where I had to help him, while carefully taking care of my own health, because leaving him alone in that state while waiting for services, would have been extremely dangerous to him, as he was in no fit state to get help himself.

He was readmitted for nearly two weeks, and those weeks were terrifying for me, and it was double hard, because I had to cope with the re-triggering of my PTSD. He was checked over and put on a drip, however the drip was emptying fast because fluid was going in, but he was dehydrating as soon as it touched him. We talked on the phone, but he could only manage a couple of minutes. The hospital also had to do other checks, because the Covid-19 (which he tested positive for twice in hospital, yet the first test came back a week after the admission as a negative through the post), had attacked his cerebellum, of which most was removed due to cancer treatment when he was three. This affected his cognition, and to add to that, it tripled the chronic pain, and caused labyrinthitis which also affected his ears, which were also affected during the car crash. He had to have help to stand and walk because it was painful and exhausting for him, and he is still having that help now he is home, and is walking with frames around the house, and two rails plus support from carers in the morning and at night to get up and down the stairs.

These conditions might seem mild to some, however my husband is very lucky he didn't end up on a ventilator, or like many lose his life. I now spend all my time making sure he is ok, and we do not know yet, whether covid-19 has left more permanent damage. He is at the moment having three weeks of work, but that could be longer. My heart breaks for those who have died from this illness and their families, it also breaks for those who are in a serious way with this virus, and there are people who are in a very serious way with it. One of those people might have been my husband, however, his condition is serious enough to wake me up, after the fear of seeing it play out before my eyes. I was terrified he might die. When he was admitted, both times I worried I might never see him again. I somehow managed the housework, but my thoughts drained me. I called him several times a day, just to reassure myself he was still alive, because the dehydration alone could have killed him. My mum was there on the phone listening to my tears and supporting me everyday, without her, I would have fallen apart.

My advice to people is this. Some people get the virus mild, some moderate and some extremely serious. This virus is very real, it doesn't take much for it to pass around. You, your friends, your family and anyone else can catch it or pass it around, and even mild, it can go from mild to serious in days, weeks and seconds as I learned from my own terrifying experience with my husband. This is serious, and like many, I don't always agree with the government. However, there is one thing very clear, follow the guidance, even if you don't fully agree with it, it could save your life and others. I had to continuously wash my hands, bedding, clothes and everything we touched, because I had to be with my other half for safety reasons, and because we had no spare rooms at this time. Social distancing and isolating can be difficult, but we got round it by sleeping away from each other in bed, washing up with gloves, regularly washing laundry and washing his washing separately, and washing every plate and other cooking utensils separately in very hot soapy water. Everything in my home gets disinfected, and the toilets, sinks, floors, all get bleached. We put distance between us when we talked and if I had to make contact with him, I changed clothes and washed my hands and face straightaway.

My husband no longer has the virus, but his recovery from the after-effects will take time, due to the serious nature of them. It is really important to follow rules and be cautious. As I said earlier, I don't always agree with the Government, but one thing I do agree with, is we must all work together to beat this virus and protect ourselves and others from it. It is new, and we are still learning about it, and immunisation might be a long way of, however I'd like to prevent as many people as possible from going through the pain me and my husband has been through, and for that, I will take a chance on government advice, because I'd rather try and be safe, even if I don't agree with all of it.