Suddenly Corona – Experiences of an Alpha-1 Affected Person

Gesine

Marion Wilkens asked me to write down the story of my coronavirus infection for you.

I am 67 years old and live with my 90-year-old mother in separate households in an apartment building. We limited our social contacts during the Corona period, and I made do by inviting one or two people over for walks at intervals.

I myself have COPD Gold Stage 3, as well as panlobular emphysema. My mother and I always protected ourselves outdoors with masks, social distancing, and gloves.

The only person we didn't take precautions against (carelessness) and who was allowed into my apartment and went shopping with me, contracted COVID-19. I only learned of her diagnosis because she was sent into quarantine and could no longer come.

About four days after our last meeting, I developed flu-like symptoms and diarrhea. My mother complained of fatigue, low blood pressure, a runny nose, and diarrhea. I didn't take the flu-like illness too seriously at first. We drank sage tea with honey, and I spent two days in bed. After that, the episode passed without a fever, and I didn't think anything of it until the following weekend when I realized I had lost my sense of smell and could only distinguish between salty, sweet, and bitter tastes. Nothing brought me any joy anymore. Since my mother had lost her sense of smell years ago, we couldn't test her sense of smell.

At the beginning of the following week, I went to the nearest testing center for a COVID test. They only took a throat swab, and I doubted whether they even touched the back of my throat during the test, because I didn't feel a thing. The test was negative. So I went home, and in the following days, I developed mucus in my bronchi, which I was initially able to clear by coughing. I thought this was the beginning of an exacerbation and took lavender oil capsules three times a day to thin the mucus. I also started experiencing increasing shortness of breath, which I tried to alleviate by inhaling spike lavender oil, which I put on a tissue. The shortness of breath worsened, and the mucus became stuck in my bronchi; I couldn't cough it up. So I started using a Mucovac breathing trainer, which was supposed to help loosen the mucus. In addition, I did certain arm movements that I had learned in physiotherapy and drank a lot of tea and water. That got me through, more or less.

As soon as I could, I went to see my family doctor. She determined that I didn't have pneumonia and suspected an infection that didn't require antibiotics. I coughed for another day or two, which was very exhausting. All I could do was lie on the sofa, cough, and try to clear the mucus from my bronchial tubes with my home remedies. Another week passed, and I noticed extremely low blood pressure, which then remained at 85 or 75/54 for days. My oxygen saturation dropped to 65%. I felt dizzy with every little movement. When I realized this, I tried to call a pulmonologist. They weren't answering the phone. And the 116117 hotline was completely unreachable. I hesitated to call the emergency services because I was afraid of the hospital. Besides, at that time, there was a moratorium on admissions due to COVID-19 overcrowding. The wards in the next largest city were also completely full. I was also afraid to call an ambulance because I thought I wouldn't tolerate oxygen therapy well in my bronchi. So I made sure there was constant fresh air, frequently opening the windows wide, and when the shortness of breath became unbearable and frightening, I resorted to cortisone. I always keep this on hand as an emergency medication because in such a state, which can certainly occur during an exacerbation (except for the extreme drop in blood pressure), I'm no longer able to get a prescription. I should mention that I'm friends with a nurse, with whom I communicated via WhatsApp during this time, so I didn't feel completely alone.

So I underwent a course of high-dose cortisone, which quickly put an end to the cough. My blood pressure also rose somewhat, as did my oxygen saturation. At the same time, I tried simple breathing exercises I knew from yoga, by the open window, and observed that my oxygen saturation slowly approached 80. Towards the end of the course of medication, I felt stronger again, allowing me to expand the yoga exercises and further strengthen my breathing. However, I was still physically unable to go down a flight of stairs, for example, to bring my mother a pot of cooking. During the preceding period, we had received almost no support, and we were grateful that someone was finally available to shop and clean for us. My mother also had very low blood pressure, dizziness, and a bad cold. Neither of us had a fever.

After the course of cortisone, I gradually tapered off the tablets over another ten days and during this time began to rebuild my physical activity. First, I slowly started climbing the stairs to my mother's ground-floor apartment again. Then I took short walks around the block and, especially in the mornings, did my yoga exercises with the window open. After about a week, I ventured out for my first walk in nature with a friend – on wobbly legs. My breathing was still very weak when I spoke.

However, things gradually returned to normal, and what has remained is that I now take an hour-long walk in nature every day, where I also do breathing exercises, or go for an hour-long bike ride. I also try to walk uphill to train my breathing.

In conclusion, I'd like to say that, due to my weakened body and the symptoms, I began to suspect that this couldn't have been solely an exacerbation, so I had an antibody test done a week ago, along with my mother. The test was positive in both cases. In retrospect, I think it was fortunate for me, at that moment of severe shortness of breath, that I didn't know for sure whether it was COVID-19. Otherwise, I would have panicked, which would certainly have made things worse. However, I hope I worried unnecessarily about the future course of my COPD. I will continue to follow the hygiene rules, though, because it hasn't yet been proven whether the temporary immunity I've now gained extends to mutated viruses. Besides, you can still transmit viruses yourself. Meanwhile, my 90-year-old mother and I have regained our strength, and I've once again overcome a difficult situation; the pulse oximeter is showing 90-95% oxygen saturation again. I'm very proud of that and also happy that my mother is well again. We both got away with just a slap on the wrist. Thank God.

Fresh air, exercise, and even minor exertion are good for both body and mind, promoting resilience and willpower to maintain good health. This helps prevent the condition from deteriorating beyond what it often already is.