A fit and healthy young blogger has issued a powerful warning after ‘writhing in pain’ from the effects of Covid-19.
Social media influencer, Kat, from Leeds, said she suffered a “terrifying ordeal” after being diagnosed with coronavirus.
The trend forecasting lecturer has over 20k people following her Instagram platform @wearsitkat, where she shares her fashion hacks and advice.
Kat found out she had Covid-19 just before Christmas, after developing flu-like symptoms.
Taking the test as a precaution, Kat said she was “shocked” to discover the test was positive, reports LeedsLive.
The 32-year-old, who is fit and healthy, said she suffered severe chest pains and ended up in intensive care and on oxygen.
And now Kat wants to warn others how coronavirus can impact young people, in particular.
Sharing her experience, Kat said: “I tested positive three days before Christmas, I started with a sniffle on 19th December but thought I was just run down as I’d heard a runny nose wasn’t a sign of coronavirus.
“I started to feel achey on the Monday so I went for a test purely to rule it out as I was going to family for Christmas Day and didn’t want to turn up full of cold and potentially put them at risk, didn’t think for one second it would come back positive.
“I was really shocked when it did because I’d literally been out twice the previous week and I’m always super cautious so I’ve still no idea where or how I caught it, it’s staggering how contagious it is.
“I was isolating and poorly over Christmas, just felt like proper flu, couldn’t move, exhausted, loss of taste and smell came – Christmas was thoroughly miserable alone!
“The day my isolation ended I decided to go for a short walk round the block to get some air, after I came back I noticed a sharp, stitch-like pain in my chest, I presumed I’d just overdone it or it was the cold air and got back into bed.
“Two days later I was writhing in pain, the pain just got worse, I couldn’t breathe, I was gasping for air, it was like there was no oxygen at all, it was terrifying. I rang 111 who phoned me an ambulance straight away but due to demand I had to wait 1.5 hours, I’m not complaining they’re so over stretched but I was genuinely terrified.
“The staff in A&E were great, I got admitted to the Covid-19 ward that night. It was a very scary experience – we’ve all been watching the news since last March going behind the scenes of covid wards but being there first hand was terrifying and having to be there alone made it worse.
“I’m home now recovering from pneumonia and I have severe damage to my left lung caused by the virus. For people who say it’s just like the flu – it isn’t, even people who have the actual virus asymptomatically are finding damage to their body further down the line caused by the virus.
Kat added: “The infectious stage isn’t nice but it’s what comes after day 10 that’s the real eye opener. I tested negative whilst I was in hospital gasping for breathe, its the damage that it leaves behind.
“For everyone who says it’s got a 99.7% survival rate – it’s not as black and white as dying or surviving there’s this horrible middle ground where I’ve survived but I’m 32 years old and can’t stand or do anything without being wheezy and breathless.
“I can’t talk in full sentences and going for a walk is out of the question at the moment, I’ve no idea how long it will take me to recover, if I ever do get back to the fitness level I was prior to this. It’s a complete lottery how you will be affected.
Asked what advice she would give to young people who think they’re not at risk, Kat said: “If you’d have asked me six months ago whether I thought I’d get seriously ill I would’ve probably said no because I’m fit and healthy.
“But it’s completely taken me down – there’s no rhyme or reason to it, like I said it’s not as black and white as surviving or dying, just because you haven’t died doesn’t mean you’re not severely affected.”
-- to www.walesonline.co.uk
