A traveller from the UAE is patient No. 15 in the Philippines’ COVID-19 roster of positive cases. He is one of the handful of survivors among Filipino victims of this coronavirus disease.
In an interview with ABS-CBN, Patient 15 recalled that he got sick on February 29, few days after returning from the UAE.
He had fever, dry cough and colds. He could to walk or even standup due to fatigue. His fever went down the following day but his colds and cough remained. When he lost his sense of taste and smell a week later, he decided to go to the hospital. Since he had a travel history, he was tested for COVID-19. Few days later, on his birthday, he was informed that he is a positive carrier of the viral disease.
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“Ang hirap sa loob ko na kaarawan ko, wala akong kasama, isolated ako physically, mentally. Ang daming pumasok sa isipan ko na masasama, na bakit ako out of 105 million Filipino people? Nalungkot ako, sobra. Nalungkot ako na hindi ko alam ‘yung gagawin ko. Parang nawalan ako ng gana sa life. Parang naapektuhan ‘yung mental health ko. Parang nawalan ako ng goal so umiyak lang ako,” the 24-year-old patient shared.
So many things bothered him — there is no cure, how long he would recover, will there be complications, are the doctors and hospital staff really competent to handle my case, what happened to my friends, co-workers who I had close encounters?
After eight days in the hospital, his dry cough, colds and body pains persisted but the fever did not resurface. With vitamins, healthy diet and various medicines, he eventually felt better.
To relieve his mental anxiety from more stresses, he tuned out of social media and only read about the number of recoveries abroad, which he attributed as one of the things that gave him hope.
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On March 15, his test results came. His doctors told him he had tested negative twice. “In that moment, sobrang saya. Sobrang tuwa, sobrang ginhawa. Alam mo ‘yung feeling na para kang… nahimasmasan ka talaga, na ‘yong pag-asa, meron pa talaga,” he said.
Although he was discharged at the hospital, he was required to undergo another 14-day quarantine. He is now staying in Makati City but would love to go back to the province “once everything settles” to see his parents and siblings and finally celebrate his birthday with the rest of his relatives.
“This experience provided me a better outlook in life. I was given more time to reflect and also to pray to God. Medyo nalayo kasi ang loob ko sa Kanya (My faith was a bit shaken). I also give the credit of my recuperation to Him and to my prayer warriors. I am very thankful for the chance to be healed,” he said.
“Aayain ko talaga sila magsimba para magpasalamat (I will invite all of them to Church to give thanks). That’s how we will celebrate.”
