Have you witnessed Covid first hand?

[HforHavana]

At the start, I was very much with the crowd of 'this is all too much and too far for a virus with such a high survival rate' 'let people live their lives and take their own risks'.
I thought the numbers were inflated (they still well may be), and everything in the news was exaggerated. In the first wave, I didn't hear of one person even having Covid. Never denied its existence, but definitely questioned the hype.

Last month, a fit and healthy family member tested positive and was dead within 3 weeks. The reality of the whole thing hit and now I see the risks and worry for the rest of my family who are vulnerable.

For 8/9 months, I didn't take the whole thing too seriously. I hate the fact it's taken this for it to hit home. When I see people's comments about going back to normality and stopping lockdowns etc, I wonder what their experience of Covid is.

Have you experienced Covid first hand and has your opinion changed since March on any of it?

@HforHavana

At the start, I was very much with the crowd of 'this is all too much and too far for a virus with such a high survival rate' 'let people live their lives and take their own risks'. I thought the numbers were inflated (they still well may be), and everything in the news was exaggerated. In the first wave, I didn't hear of one person even having Covid. Never denied its existence, but definitely questioned the hype.

Last month, a fit and healthy family member tested positive and was dead within 3 weeks. The reality of the whole thing hit and now I see the risks and worry for the rest of my family who are vulnerable.

For 8/9 months, I didn't take the whole thing too seriously. I hate the fact it's taken this for it to hit home. When I see people's comments about going back to normality and stopping lockdowns etc, I wonder what their experience of Covid is.

Have you experienced Covid first hand and has your opinion changed since March on any of it?

My mum and brother work for the NHS as nurses, in fact my brother only qualified in January. Both have cared for covid patients throughout the pandemic. But I personally don't know anyone who has had it or had it myself.

My DH is a funeral director so I have never questioned how bad this is - he pretty much worked around the clock in March/April. However I only know one person who has definitely had it and both my childrens schools (primary and secondary, in different areas) remained open since September with no bubbles/class closures

Being frank, the stories on the radio about people being kept from loved ones have upset me far more than any story about Covid has so far.

My dd had it and was briefly poorly and is now fine. Her bf was asymptomatic. All the teens I know who have had it were barely ill.

Have had it, know people who have had it and recovered and are fine , know people who have recovered and are not back to normal, cared for people who have died - but also had underlying health problems.

My unpopular opinion is that it should have been taken much more seriously much much earlier than it was. That would have had far more effect. The current restrictions are too little and far too late anyway. If it wasn’t for the nhs struggling to cope, we might as well return to normal as the virus is now as embedded in society as other coronavirus are. But that is only my opinion.

My best friend's previously healthy SIL died quite early on in the pandemic, and Mum's elderly cousin died from Covid.

We've always taken it very seriously. Then DD caught it and had no symptoms at all. None. We only found out due to an asymptomatic testing scheme. She didn't even have a slight rise in temperature and didn't cough a single time.

We still take it very seriously though because we don't know who it will affect badly.

I'm sorry for your loss, OP

At the start of the 1st wave one of our neighbours was in a coma with COVID. He is in his 30's and was previously fit and healthy. Fortunately he pulled through - much to the doctors surprise. But it brought it home to us straight away that this was not an illness to be flippant about.

We tested positive in October and have fortunately got through it without needing medical treatment. But 10 weeks on and I still get real cognitive fatigue. Anything that requires close concentration really tires me - I struggle focus and remember stuff at work and things I used to love like reading, sewing, knitting etc are hard work. Also have near constant tinnitus as a result and am using an inhaler for the first time in my life.

Covid is shit. The 'I don't want to wear a mask/get vaccinated/obey social distancing' brigade can all go fuck themselves.

I currently have it. It’s week 6 for me. I’m 35 and no health conditions, healthy BMI. I can currently Potter for 5 minutes before needing a sit down.

@Lampzade - get well soon! Hope it remains mild. Don't rush recovery. It takes a while to bounce back.

@Covidrelapse - sorry to hear that! It does get easier. Week 8 was a bit of a turning point for me. Take it easy.

@ComtesseDeSpair

I can count on one hand the number of people I know who’ve had Covid-like symptoms this year, so it’s always felt like a very distant thing happening to others.

I’ve always held Covid in the perspective of having had scarlet fever very badly a couple of years ago. I spent a week in hospital, another few weeks to feel properly myself again, and still have recurring endocarditis as a side effect - “long-Covid” isn’t unique to Covid. Yet I don’t know anyone who worries themselves sick about catching scarlet fever. It’s the same with sepsis - there are on average 45,000 sepsis-related deaths in the U.K. each year, many of them younger people who were healthy and well just days previously - more under-40s will die of sepsis than Covid. Why aren’t we all as terrified of sepsis as we are Covid?

The reality is that occasionally, fit, healthy, young people do suffer badly or die from infections which go on to be mild in others. But we can’t live our lives wrapping ourselves away from all potential harm.

Because sepsis and scarlet fever are not highly contagious viruses?

I know someone who had it very mildly in March but lost her sense of smell and taste for several months. While it's not as bad as some other long covid sufferers have experienced, it sounds extremely unpleasant (and quite dangerous really if you can't smell gas, smoke, food that's gone off etc.).

I've lost one family member to covid
Had two friends hospitalised with it and know 4 others that tested positive with no symptoms . So I'm just careful but not scared,I wash my hands and wear a mask but do go out shopping as near as I normally did .

I know 2 people who had not long been given the all clear from cancer, one with pre-existing COPD who tested positive and was ill but ill not hospital admission required.
I find it crazy how you can have someone with a low immune system from chemo, plus COPD survive Covid, but someone who was otherwise healthy is killed by it.
As a pp said, it's like a lottery. No one knows how they will react to it and what treatment will be needed.

We as a family had it. One teenager very poorly for 3 weeks then had intermittent breathlessness for a few months afterwards. Husband was mildly ill for a week. Tiny kids had fever and sore throat for 2 days. I had mild flu like symptoms with loss of smell for 10 days, felt better then developed breathing problems out of nowhere which lasted for 6 months. I am mid forties and previous very fit and healthy. Better now but still unable to exercise at the same intensity 9 months on.

I only know one person who has (probably) had it first hand - she made a full recovery.

The only death I know of (second hand - friend's aunt's friend) was considered to be a blessing in disguise due to early onset dementia.

My secondary school age child is on week 3 of being ill (symptomatic ,no change at all across the weeks). She and 12 others in her class got it. I wish everyone had taken it far more seriously. She's healthy as an ox normally...

The restrictions are in no way sufficient to manage the virus.

I’ve been cautious since the beginning, relaxed a bit in the summer with the eat out to help out (it felt like things were getting back to normal), but always took precautions. My daughter caught it 3 weeks ago from work and although she didn’t have it as bad as some, it really bought it home how horrible it can be. She still can’t taste fully, has a slight lingering cough and gets exhausted if she over exerts herself. No body really knows how it’s going to affect them until it’s too late. Even a face mask didn’t prevent her from catching it. My relative who thinks we’re over reacting for not having guests over said “you were so all so cautious you caught it and we have visitors all the time and we haven’t!”. At least when she did catch it we were confident she didn’t pass it on to other family and friends as we hadn’t met up with anyone.

Yes, my dad caught it in hospital and died with it, another friends dad died of it and a neighbours husband died of it all mid 70’s early 80’s with underlying health issues.
I know a lot of other younger people who have had it and we are tier 2. All recovered but one had to hospitalised and nearly died but recovered a male mid 50’s.
Met a friend for a walk today and she was telling me about a friend of a friend whose sister in her 30’s who died of it this week.

Ds caught it back in March, and had all the classic symptoms plus lots of unusual-but-normal-for-covid after effects - rash, swollen eyes, fatigue, cracked lips, loss of appetite, fatigue for weeks after. 9 months on, he’s still having mini relapses every week where his tonsils will swell up, his throat will hurt and he’ll lose all his energy. He rests all weekend, back to normal for Monday, then relapses again every Thursday/Friday.

He’s coping ok, but he’s frustrated he gets exhausted so often, and that he can’t play football like he used to as he gets out of breath and can’t keep up.

His gp and consultant have been a great help, and he’s having ongoing tests but I really feel for him. It’s taken him from being an incredibly active kid (no underlying conditions) to one who has to pace himself. Hopefully time will heal a lot of it, but 9 months feels long when you’re 11.

No l haven't and am very sorry to hear about your family member OP xx

A colleague of mine died two months ago. I went to the funeral of a colleague yesterday. I've just found out another colleague died today. Yet another colleague and close family friend's father are seriously unwell in hospital. These were all friends as well as colleagues. I'm heartbroken at the moment. It all feels very real. I had my first covid vaccine this afternoon and could have wept. It feels much more real right now than it did at the start of the pandemic.

[quote BatleyTownswomensGuild]@Lampzade - get well soon! Hope it remains mild. Don't rush recovery. It takes a while to bounce back. [/quote]
Thanks a lot

And I’m so sorry about your family member op, and for everyone who’s lost someone I wonder if a lot of the stress this virus caused is because it’s so unpredictable

My partner became ill mid March - it has only been in the past month that he has more or less recovered but some symptoms do return eg dizziness and fatigue. It is a horrible, horrible illness and it infuriates me that so many people do not take it seriously.

@ComtesseDeSpair

I can count on one hand the number of people I know who’ve had Covid-like symptoms this year, so it’s always felt like a very distant thing happening to others.

I’ve always held Covid in the perspective of having had scarlet fever very badly a couple of years ago. I spent a week in hospital, another few weeks to feel properly myself again, and still have recurring endocarditis as a side effect - “long-Covid” isn’t unique to Covid. Yet I don’t know anyone who worries themselves sick about catching scarlet fever. It’s the same with sepsis - there are on average 45,000 sepsis-related deaths in the U.K. each year, many of them younger people who were healthy and well just days previously - more under-40s will die of sepsis than Covid. Why aren’t we all as terrified of sepsis as we are Covid?

The reality is that occasionally, fit, healthy, young people do suffer badly or die from infections which go on to be mild in others. But we can’t live our lives wrapping ourselves away from all potential harm.

I'm terrified of sepsis, but fortunately it's not contagious so it's not in anyway comparable.