“Today I have a different outlook on life. I have improved my relationship with my wife, my two children and people. I am more affectionate, I pay more attention to others and I became more sensitive, especially in relation to tragic events such as the one in Petrópolis.”
The statement is from José Amâncio Xavier Filho, 69, resident of Barra de Guaratiba, in Rio. Two years ago, he contracted the new coronavirus, but overcame the disease.
The changes since then have affected his life in many ways.
Amâncio, as he likes to be called, knows and respects his limitations. Surfing, which he liked to practice on the beach, for now is alive only in memories.
Even considered healthy by doctors, physical exercises are not heavy. He is currently adept at walking and swimming, which he practices at home.
The coronavirus infection occurred in late February, early March 2020, he told the report. In Brazil, the number one case of the disease was registered on February 25, and the first death, on March 17, both in the same year.
“There was no protocol. We heard about Covid, but we didn’t really know what it was. I had no idea it could be Covid, because I’ve always been a very healthy guy”, says Amâncio, who went through a process from which the doctors thought he would never leave — out of the 42 days he was hospitalized, 32 were in the ICU accompanied by delusions and two intubations.
Diabetic, his lungs, pancreas and kidneys were affected. For a year and two months, she has been undergoing hemodialysis three times a week and has a doctor’s recommendation to undergo a kidney transplant.
“I had partial renal failure. I lost 13 kilos, left the hospital in a wheelchair and underwent three months of physical therapy to get back on my feet. I wish I didn’t have to have the transplant. that I’m fine, healthy and balanced, but in the transplant I can go in and not go out, right?”
“Today in my prayers I just ask God to take me out of this hemodialysis story,” he adds. “What I want is to do my part helping people and be happy.”
Valuing time with the family, learning from suffering and healing the sequelae. When looking at the photos of her daughter Maria Júlia, now one year and seven months old, Ana Júlia da Silva Lopes, 36, resident of Tanabi (477 km from the capital of São Paulo) remembers what she lived in July 2020.
On the 13th of that month, the diagnosis of Covid-19 came. Ten days later Maria Júlia was born. The delivery was premature, at 31 weeks’ gestation, because Ana’s infection had worsened and she needed ICU. Shortness of breath, excessive tiredness and fever were mixed with the anguish of not being able to meet her daughter, which occurred 20 days after birth.
“When you’re pregnant, the first thing you think about is the time to see your baby’s face. I met her on Father’s Day. It was a gift for my husband. I wanted to breastfeed her. the milk thought: it’s for you, daughter. I had to throw it away because of Covid”, says Ana.
The consequences of the disease were cruel: leg pain, excessive tiredness, weight gain and depression. Also, she was fired.
Nowadays, Ana has resumed the academy and is looking for a job. “My life has started to pick up again now,” she says. “We end up valuing time with the family more. Today we are here, but tomorrow we may not be. The pandemic opened the eyes of some and closed the eyes of others. We saw a lot of people die. I just want to learn from everything I’ve been through. “
After being hospitalized for 45 days in early 2020, 21 of which were dependent on artificial mechanical ventilation (respirator), retired Maria Conceição Moreira da Silva, 72, took a long time to recover from the consequences of Covid-19.
During the period hospitalized at Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Ituverava (348 km from São Paulo), she suffered three cardiac arrests.
Her situation was complicated by comorbidities, as she has hypertension, diabetes and hypothyroidism, in addition to obesity and being a former smoker. Even so, she managed to recover and, with great difficulty, was able to return to normal life.
“To this day I have very little sequelae, not always, no. Every now and then I have a pain in the nerve in my heel, but it’s not much”, says Maria Conceição.
“When I returned from 45 days in the hospital, I couldn’t walk and, therefore, I had to use a wheelchair. I couldn’t pick up anything either, I didn’t have the strength in my hands. Over time, I trained, I switched to a walker, then I grabbing the walls of the house until I could walk again.”
A resident of Miguelópolis (441 km from the capital of São Paulo), Maria says that she is already immunized, with three doses of the vaccine against Covid-19, and that, even so, she continues to take precautions. “It’s a great relief (being vaccinated), but we don’t make it easy and always go out wearing a mask.”
The headhunter (talent hunter) Hermes de Araújo Freitas Filho, 30, suffered a heart attack, at age 28, because of Covid.
In 2020, he was hospitalized for nine days, four of which were in the ICU of Hospital Sírio-Libanês, in the capital, with his right lung practically taken by pneumonia. With the complication, he suffered cardiac arrest.
Despite the scare, he managed to recover and return to his routine. Already immunized by vaccines, he tested positive for Covid again in 2021, but this time without complications.
“I felt body aches, tiredness and weakness, but nothing compared to the first time. Thank God, I didn’t have any sequel”, celebrates Hermes, revealing that he knows some people who still suffer even after a long time of recovery.
“I know many people who were left with sequelae, many who lost 100% of their sense of smell and taste and never recovered.”
Project serves people with sequelae
In September 2020, Covid-19 devastated the life of dental surgeon Raquel Trevisi, then 38 years old, married and mother of two. From Presidente Prudente (558 km from São Paulo), she had enviable health and, as a crossfit athlete, she even participated in championships.
The disease hit her very seriously. Of the 30 days of hospitalization, 20 were in the ICU. Raquel underwent two intubations and had many complications — she lost 25 kilos, thrombosis in her arms and legs (left side), blood infection, sarcopenia (progressive loss of muscle mass associated with loss of muscle strength), reduced physical performance and temporary quadriplegia. .
“I carry scars of what Covid did to me. I don’t spend a day of my life without thinking about it. All day I see signs in my body and in my physical condition”, he reports.
Two months after discharge, Raquel’s father was infected with the coronavirus, spent 40 days in the hospital and died.
Raquel thought, then, of a way to help families who cannot afford a complete treatment for the recovery of the disease.
“When I returned home one day, I asked the nurse who was taking care of me how do people who can’t afford it? She said ‘no,'” he says.
With the purpose of welcoming and helping people with Covid sequelae and their families, in October 2020, Raquel founded the NGO Instituto Trevisi, which embraces the COM VIDA Project.
The project provides assistance with a physiotherapist, psychologist, speech therapist, nutritionist and doctors (depending on the situation).
There are also donations of supplementation and care for the bereaved. Almost a thousand families have already been served and 200 are currently active.
To meet, help or become a project volunteer, visit @projeto.com.vida on Instagram.
Chad-98Weaver, a distinguished author at NewsBulletin247, excels in the craft of article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a penchant for storytelling, Chad delivers informative and engaging content that resonates with readers across various subjects. His contributions are a testament to his dedication and expertise in the field of journalism.
