For two years, Melbourne’s Lara Chamas did her best to avoid contracting COVID.
Being an immunocompromised person with a disability, Lara feared that if she contracted COVID, it would probably be a long recovery.
He shares what he gave up trying to avoid and what happened when he tested positive recently.
To avoid COVID, I sacrificed many things
I was very scared of having COVID because I didn’t know how serious it could be for me, but I figured my deepest fear was having a long COVID and how it could affect my other illnesses.
I have chronic musculoskeletal disease, chronic pain and multiple mental illnesses. I am also immunocompromised and have chronic illnesses that require surgeries throughout my life.
My illnesses often get worse with each other: if I’m experiencing an outbreak with one, it often triggers outbreaks for others.
During the first two years of the pandemic, I made many sacrifices to mitigate the risk of contracting COVID.
He was afraid to go to Allied health appointments that required him to be physically present.
Even though I went to the grocery store to buy groceries, I often found it easier and safer to order takeaway food.
Another great one was the exercise, although they allowed us to go out and exercise during the [Melbourne] closures, he was still trying to avoid leaving the house as much as possible. As a result, my musculoskeletal condition would increase and worsen.
And of course, staying inside and feeling so scared and paranoid affected my mental health and sanity.
When Lara took COVID, she describes feeling as if someone was sitting on her chest. (Hashem McAdam)
After receiving COVID, recovery was slow
When I finally took COVID, even though luckily I wasn’t hospitalized, it was still very bad.
I had surgery two months before taking COVID, so I was already in a state of weakness and in a period of recovery, trying to get back to my physical life.
As I had suspected, it caused an outbreak in many of my pre-existing conditions.
My chronic pain was worse, and I was experiencing muscle and skeletal pain.
The best way I can describe it is that my bones felt like they were made of knives and my muscles were wrapped around the knives.
I also felt very heavy, as if my muscles were leaden, or there was someone sitting on my chest.
The fatigue was intense and he had a fever that constantly alternated between cold and heat.
It attacked my whole body and my immune system – I was in bed for three weeks. It was only after six weeks that I finally felt my fatigue and body stiffness begin to subside.
How I feel now
It’s been about two months since I recovered. One thing I have left is congestion.
I’m being cautious with reinfection, as the period of immunity is different for everyone, and I don’t want to go through that again.
I think it’s important that we continue to share the perspectives and stories of people with disabilities and / or immunocompromised people, because maybe you’d walk past me down the street, or someone in a similar position, and you don’t know that’s my experience.
You may think twice before wearing a mask and taking extra precautions, as this person may have an invisible illness.
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