Amy Shircel: What each day feels like when you have coronavirus
Since the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, more than 700,000 people have tested positive globally resulting in more than 33,900 deaths.
Out of those, more than 151,000 have recovered and some have come out to share their experience.
One such person is 22-year-old Amy Shircel who took to her social media to share her experience on what it is like to have Covid-19.
She shared a day-by-day account of what was happening to her body, hoping that by sharing her experience other people would stay at home, a measure the world has been forced to embrace to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“I’m 22 and I tested positive for COVID-19. Take it from me – you do NOT want to catch this hopefully hearing about my experience will help the rest of you to stay home (for real)” she start her thread.
Here are the rest of her tweets:
The first couple of days of symptoms were manageable. I had a fever, a mild cough, chills, headache, runny nose. Since I had been to Europe, they allowed me to get tested on my second day of symptoms.
By the third day, I couldn’t keep anything down. I was vomiting constantly. I couldn’t sleep, I obviously couldn’t eat. At this point, I still didn’t have my test results back.
4th day: test back positive. I developed shortness of breath. It’s scary, it feels like your lungs are shallow and you can’t take a proper breath. I was weak, had a 102 degree fever and rising.
5th day. Things got worse and worse. I had never been this ill in my entire life. I was genuinely afraid I would die, because that is what it felt like.
By the 6th day of symptoms, I was so weak I couldn’t even walk. I crawled to the bathroom to vomit. I became so dehydrated I called 911, and they took me in an ambulance to the emergency room. I stayed there for a day where they rehydrated me and got me some anti-nausea meds.
7th-11th day of symptoms: ER again. I had never been that weak or fatigued by fever in my life. I either violently shivered in bed all day, or would wake up in a literal puddle of my own sweat. I couldn’t eat for 9 days. I was completely miserable.
Right now I am on my 12th day of symptoms, and I have my appetite back, but the end is nowhere in sight. I still have all the major symptoms.
The American ended her tweet thread by her warning that those in their 20s are not immune to the coronavirus as she was a living testimony.
“A coronavirus diagnosis is dehumanizing and lonely, and I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy. You aren’t invincible just because you’re in your 20s. Take it from me, and quarantine like your life depends on it (it might),” she wrote.
The post got a lot of reactions as the reality of the impact of the deadly virus sunk into the minds of many young people, even as many states countries grappled with the overwhelming effect of the virus on their health systems.