I beat COVID after a lot of pain, I beg you to protect your health”

Italian household Marzia M was cured of COVID-19 after a long period of healing. She wants to tell her story because she believes it will help other people, including those from other countries.

Marzia contracted the COVID-19 virus during the first days of isolation along with her family. When she describes the physical symptoms, she says, “began with a little general embarrassment that progressed to Lumboskiati and neuralgia, during which time I experienced severe pain and even my teeth hurt. I know my body, so it was strange to experience this great pain. I called the family doctor who described the cortisone”. However, Martia's pain did not relax, and when the dry cough and fever began to appear at the end of March, she suspected that it could be COVID-19 virus and addressed her doctor.

My doctor didn't believe me, and he asked me how I could have taken the virus which I thought was a ridiculous question, clearly seeing that during March there had been an asmptomatic transmission!” Marzia was untaught with the tiring fever she was experiencing, and the treatment offered by the family doctor did little to alleviate the symptoms. When Martian's daughter asked the family doctor to test COVID-19, she was told that the test was not easy at the time because everyone was looking to be tested. “Finally, the mayor managed to test us at home. By the time they came for testing, my condition had deteriorated, and I decided to go to the hospital even before I got the test for COVID-19. At the hospital, after I was diagnosed with COVIED-19, I was told that my condition was severe; within just a few days, my husband also was hospitalized, and although the whole family proved positive, only my husband and I became ill”.

Doctors at the hospital reported Martian's relatives that her condition was critical, and that her lungs were almost completely compromised. Very soon, my husband and I were thrilled with mechanical ventilation. We had so much pain all 18 days in the hospital's intensive care department, and we stayed in the Reanimation Department for a month. Doctors and medical staff who treated us were not only very skilled and professional but also very nice and kind to us. After we removed the collections, my condition began to improve”.
When asked how she could have contracted the virus, Marzia says: “from her daughter, who, although as anestoptically, proved positive for COVID-19. I am convinced that this was how I became infected after wearing a mask and using gloves even before the isolation measures were implemented in Italy, after which I left home no more than a couple times”.
After her experience, Marzia thinks she should give advice to public authorities and states facing the COVID-19 pandemic:
“First and most importantly, family doctors should not be left without support. My family doctor could not help me through the early days of my illness because he was overloaded with patients. The doctor who also treated me had little experience, since she was young. In view of this situation, I feel that something must be done to help doctors provide distance services for their patients. Second, the mayors and local authorities are invaluable sources of support; in my case, the mayor not only helped me test but continued to help my children, since he knew they were only at home while my parents were hospitalised. As for hospitals, these institutions are on the first line of emergency and need any assistance they can get so that medical professionals can continue to help patients while still protecting themselves from infection. Not only was the medical team excellent in their work but they also gave us invaluable psychological support, which I cannot thank enough for actually having a special dinner as a thank you! These professionals continue to work for hours while wearing protective vests that are extremely uncomfortable, and even using toilets is a challenge for us.
Martia also has some advice for ordinary citizens who are constantly at risk of being exposed to COVID-19, the “facial masks are important! More important, remember to maintain social distance of at least one meter or more. Avoid crowds and explain the pandemic to younger people, since they may not understand the weight of pandemic COVID-19. And, if you feel more secure, use gloves... but the most important thing, whether you decide to wear gloves or not, always wash your hands before you touch your mouth and eyes” /EuropeHouses/