80 year old mum has covid. Please give me some hopeful stories

[imstilljenny2]

My almost 80 year old amazingly fit and healthy DM tested positive on LF today. She currently well and only has symptoms of a head cold. Really mild symptoms so I'm presuming she has the Omicron variant (her contact has the same symptoms-head cold for 2 or 3 days and fine now). She is triple vaccinated and her only other medical condition is rheumatoid arthritis but she's not on any immunosuppressant drugs. I'm really sick with worry due to her age. Please help me sleep tonight telling me some stories of elderly relatives that have had Omicron and are fine with it.

My mum is 76 with rheumatoid arthritis but otherwise in good health. She had Covid in September and the fatigue was the worst part and described her other symptoms as a 'bit of a sniffle'. Her sense of taste has only just returned though and she did struggle a little keeping her food intake up as nothing was really tempting for her. I genuinely think she survived on Weetabix!
Hope your mum will be OK and yes, I agree they built that generation yo be tough

Really? @KurtWildesChristmasNamechange good for her 😂

My 89yr old Grandad had it earlier this year - he thought it was just like a really bad cold. He had no lasting issues from having it, he's still fit as a fiddle enjoying a wee dram at the weekends.

I hope all these positive messages have helped to put your mind at rest. Wishing your mum a very speedy recovery. 💐

@imstilljenny2 oh she's a character, lived through all manner of nasty illnesses in her youth so she's a determined soul!

All the best to your mum

My friend works on an elderly ward that had an outbreak of covid recently. 10 of them tested positive, 9 were completed fine. One ended up in A&E as she was unvaccinated but she recovered and is now fine.

@BaggiesBride yes they have thanks. She caught it from my DH so if anything happens I don't know how he'll live with himself. It doesn't really bear thinking about. I'm a nervous wreck.

Dh’s 85yo got covid before the vaccines. After a stay in hospital, she was really well again.

The likelihood is that she will be ok, but it is worth getting her a pulse oximeter so she can monitor her blood oxygen and go to hospital if necessary.

@gsaoej yes she's monitoring her oxygen with a pulse oximeter at the moment and it's at 97%

[quote imstilljenny2]@gsaoej yes she's monitoring her oxygen with a pulse oximeter at the moment and it's at 97%[/quote]
97% is absolutely fine 💐

It’s nothing to do with being “tough” or ‘determined”. How we respond is a combination of age, underlying health issues and genetics (we don’t understand the role of the latter enough yet).

The difference this time around is the vaccines. Triple vaccinated people are much less likely to develop severe disease and die.

DH's 90 year old, amputee, 49 cigs a day grandad got it last year before vaccinations.

He said his smokers cough was worse. I think the man is invincible tbh but hoping that gives the OP some positivity! Your DM is in much better health and has had vaccinations and boosters and a milder variant so all positive indicators of a good recovery.

for you both

Thanks @slaybell

83 year old uncle. Lung cancer stage 3, got covid last year after 2 vaccines. Poorly like the flu but fine now. Sounds very promising

She currently well and only has symptoms of a head cold. Really mild symptoms so I'm presuming she has the Omicron variant (her contact has the same symptoms-head cold for 2 or 3 days and fine now). She is triple vaccinated and her only other medical condition is rheumatoid arthritis but she's not on any immunosuppressant drugs

This is all good OP.
The science is now much more confident in confirming Omicron to be milder. Also triple vaxxed and you say in another post that the booster was about a month ago, this is good timing for antibody levels from what I've read about.

All the best for a speedy recovery

Thanks @PieMistee I've been telling myself this all day but I used to work in covid ICU and keep getting flashbacks of the patients there (pre vaccines)

Sorry meant @Flaxmeadow

My unvaccinated (by choice, passionate antivaxxer) FIL had it aged 78 and was apparently entirely asymptomatic.

I know a 93 year old male tested pos , day 6 today bit more tired and cough but otherwise ok .

I heard on news that Omicron is the mildest version to get. Other variants cause pneumonia but this one only causes bronchitis/inflammation of trachea.

I’m not elderly… but my recent experience of covid was that it didn’t affect my lower respiratory tract at all - no breathlessness or cough, just upper so a horrible sinusy cold, headache etc but passed in about 3-4 days

A relative in his 80s had it, before vaccines were available. He's diabetic, morbidly obese with heart and lung conditions. He felt weaker than normal but that was the only symptom and even that didn't last long. His GF, also in her 80s was positive, tested because they're in a nursing home, but had no symptoms.

SIL's 85 year old mum had it last week. Bounced through but was peeved because she had to stay at home.

Does doing ok today. All upper respiratory symptoms are still fairly mild. Thanks everyone

Hope your mum continues to do well. My lovely 86 year old neighbour had it a few weeks ago, he's amazingly fit and well despite multiple health conditions, stent etc but only had very mild symptoms and seems to have fully recovered.