The woman is one of the more than 235,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Spain. (Representation)
Madrid:
After months spent in a Madrid hospital fighting the virus that almost killed her, Rosa Maria Fernandez is now relearning the basics: walking, talking and using cutlery.
For the 71-year-old, progress is measured incrementally, and even seemingly small victories are a reason to celebrate.
“Until a week ago, I could barely speak, but now I can,” said Fernandez, who was rushed to hospital on March 6, and then tested positive for the virus.
“It’s a surprise that I can speak and that you understand me,” she said sitting in a wheelchair near her bed, a touch of pride in her new voice, which gurgles faintly behind a blue mask.
Behind her, figures on a screen carefully monitor her oxygen levels, doctors hovering nearby to see that she was not overworked in her eagerness to speak.
It is one of more than 235,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Spain, one of the hardest hit countries in the world.
After weeks of fighting the disease, she considers herself fortunate to have escaped death in a country where more than 28,000 people have died from the disease.
“I thought I was dying. There were times when I struggled so hard to breathe that I couldn’t communicate,” she croaks, her voice barely audible.
“It was absolutely horrible. I was really out of it … but God gave me a little more time,” she says about the month she spent in intensive care as doctors at Gregorio Maranon Hospital to fight to keep her alive.
“The angel of death has passed me by.”
Although she is still very sick, she has come a long way since her admission to the hospital.
Like many patients with COVID-19, she was heavily sedated, intubated and ventilated before being released when she could breathe on her own.
But quitting intensive care was just the beginning of a long road to recovery, involving extensive re-education that is not yet over.
Recently, she made a lot of progress – after more than eight weeks in the hospital, she finally managed to sit up and started eating alone.
Survival, but at a price
But survival comes at a price.
Long stays in intensive care often leave a patient with problems that can affect their quality of life, from severe muscle loss, respiratory weakness and cognitive problems, to speech difficulties, to memory loss and among others.
And in such cases, rehabilitation is crucial, says Dr. Ruben Juarez Fernandez, a 39-year-old rehabilitation specialist whose job is to assess a patient’s needs after leaving intensive care.
“It’s about making sure they have the least disability possible in the future and the least impact when they return home in their normal lives.”
Physiotherapist Laura Garcia Montes, 30, helped Fernandez regain movement of his limbs and taught him breathing exercises to improve lung function.
Although she can’t walk yet, learning to sit has made a big difference, she said.
“Rosa has been there for a long time, it’s been over two months. Now she is able to do things, to cooperate more and she is happier and more active, so the treatment is going faster.”
Working with COVID-19 survivors requires an extra level of care as many suffer from nausea or find it difficult to breathe when changing positions.
“Although it takes a bit of work, we want to get them back on their feet, so they can sit down without feeling nauseous or fall over.”
“I want a normal life”
In addition to sitting alone, Rosa has recently regained the use of her hands and is learning to use cutlery, says Marta Garcia of Francisco, a 39-year-old occupational therapist.
“We see many patients who cannot use their hands as before, to dress or even to carry a spoon to their mouth,” she said.
“It may be because they were immobile in intensive care, which creates muscle weakness or because of neurological problems that we observe in COVID-19 patients.”
They are also working on her basic stability so that she can eventually stand up and dress.
It is not known how long she will have to stay in the hospital.
“We take it week by week, now we see it sitting, the next one is to see if it can get up (alone) and how it will do things like going to the bathroom, getting dressed and eating”, Dr Dit Fernandez .
“We are making her more independent at all times, which is why the rehabilitation service is there.”
After being close to death, Rosa says that all she wants is “to live a normal life”.
“When I can see an improvement every day, I feel better,” she said.
“I still have a way to go, but I’m doing it.”
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
