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Thomas (not his real name) is 26 years old and works in a restaurant. Although the young man has been vaccinated twice, he contracted Covid-19 a few weeks ago. Here, he talks about his experiences with the disease, how he is doing today, and why even young people should not take the disease lightly.
Austrian Press: How are you doing at the moment?
Thomas: Oh, thank you. I’m actually doing quite well again. I have phases during the day when I feel pretty good again, but especially at the end of the day it’s usually difficult for me to stay in shape. Then I feel tired and exhausted. I didn’t know that before the disease. Before Covid-19, I was able to concentrate and work well for quite a long time. But now it’s really hard for me and that’s why I have an appointment with a specialist today.
Austrian Press: When did you have covid-19?
Thomas: I took a PCR test on October 23, because I had been feeling pretty miserable and two rapid tests were already positive. As of that day, I was officially a Covid 19 sufferer. In between, on November 4, another PCR test was done, which was again positive. This is rather unusual and after 13 days a relatively long period for someone like me who is fully vaccinated and has no previous illnesses. It was not until November 10, a week later, that I was officially declared Covid-19 recovered with a negative PCR test. It remains unclear where I might have contracted it.
Austrian Press: How were you doing during that time?
Thomas: Really not good. I had a fever and cough and really just wanted to stay in bed. But the most serious experience was a panic attack I had two weeks after starting Covid-19. I felt like I couldn’t breathe properly in the evening and it solidified. I had never experienced anything like that before in my life. My whole body was shaking, I was getting diarrhea, and I had nothing left at this point. Fortunately, my girlfriend was able to calm me down and after about ten minutes the attack was over. However, this incident and the second positive PCR test 14 days later really damaged me mentally and have left me feeling unsettled to this day.
Austrian Press: Looking back, can you explain how this exceptional situation came about?
Thomas: I’ve been thinking about that a lot, too. I can still remember that at the beginning I thought that I was just breathing in warm air all the time and therefore the thought came up: ‘What if I now also get pneumonia?’ Of course, this was also related to the fact that I have been regularly dealing with the issue and dealing with it since March 2020. I listened to the podcast on how to avoid Corona and even before the mask requirement began, I played it safe and wore a mask on buses and trains, although I was still looked at askance at the time. I think it is very likely that the things I had heard and read additionally made me insecure during my illness.
Austrian Press: … And that also made you afraid?
Thomas: Well, sure. If you see people in the media every day who have to be treated in intensive care units because of Covid-19, you naturally wonder, as a Covid-19 sufferer, whether you will end up there, too. The fact that I had a vaccine breakthrough was reason enough to worry. Add to that the fact that even weeks after the official Covid-19 diagnosis, I was still experiencing numerous health problems, ranging from sleep and memory disturbances to gastrointestinal problems, loss of appetite, and headaches. Individually, these weren’t all that severe symptoms, but in aggregate and coupled with mental health, they did limit me quite a bit. A couple of them still do.
Austrian Press: Is there anything you’d like to see in the future?
Thomas: First, I wish to return to old strength. I would not like to impose more rules and measures on myself, because I do not consider my behavior to be frivolous. Perhaps it is important not to believe that one can be completely protected by vaccination. And of course, I could always tweak many little things, such as washing my hands regularly. I currently want to avoid major events and wait until the summer to do so. No one should take Covid-19 lightly. At the same time, I’m consciously trying to change my thinking. I want to get away from the idea that the virus was or is dangerous for me personally. I also want to feel as good as I did before Covid-19.
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