“I have to sleep with oxygen, it’s not over when you leave the hospital, the lungs have yet to heal.” Antonino De Luca, 58 years old, is a merchant, lives in Catania and until a few months ago he was in great shape and without health problems. Always busy with work, the thought of getting vaccinated took a back seat. “I’ll do it tomorrow, no maybe I’ll vaccinate later, let’s see, I use all my precautions”, he repeated to himself. In September he became infected, ended up in intensive care, in a pharmacological coma for 12 days and risked never to wake up again.
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Didn’t protect yourself from Covid consider it a priority?
“No. Maybe something was happening for work, for commitments. My children were all vaccinated, only my wife and I were unprotected. Incidentally, on Christmas day last year I lost my sister to covid. At that time there was still no vaccine ”.
Did he realize how he got infected?
“I do not know. We have taken all necessary precautions. In the shop we have a counter, I had created a protective barrier, a real fixed structure, such as those found in post offices. But in reality it takes very little to get infected “.
When you started feeling sick, did you immediately think about covid?
“No. On September 1st, I felt the first symptoms. However, I did not give it importance, because just the night before, as I am passionate about photography, I had taken pictures outdoors and therefore I thought I had taken the classic shot of air. Then, after three days I did the swab, both the rapid one and the molecular one, and I tested positive. In the meantime, I got a fever and I stayed at home for 4 days “.
How was he treated?
“At the suggestion of my doctor, I took antibiotic, heparin and cortisone. Then, I got in touch with the Infectious Diseases department of the Cannizzaro hospital in Catania to do the therapy with monoclonals. At home, meanwhile, we were in separate rooms, I was the loose cannon. But the day I went for the first administration, when I got home, my fever rose to 41.7. They called 118 and then I have some vague memories… “.
Did he stay in the hospital for a long time?
“Yes, they hospitalized me and after two days from the semi-intensive covid ward I was transferred to the intensive care unit. I was intubated for 12 days. I lived an odyssey. I had bilateral pneumonia which got worse and worse. The news was bad ”.
Did he risk not making it?
“I was sedated and in a medically induced coma. I only learned after that every day and for 12 days on the phone my parents were informed that maybe I did not survive the night … Practically, after 10 months, they relived what all of us in the family suffered from the disappearance of my sister, who died of covid at 64 “.
In the end, however, the doctors managed to save her life.
“In the ward they called me the ‘miracle worker’. They told my family that the machines were at full capacity and they couldn’t do anything more. Then, luckily, one night the situation improved and the next day they decided to extubate me. The doctor who took care of us all was over the moon. I had not been the first in that serious situation and many had not made it. I too occasionally saw a cot being pushed, but it was empty. And I never had the courage to ask… “.
Now he is finally home. How are you?
“My immune defenses are zeroed, from one moment to the next I risk catching a shot of air. Man man I’m regaining my strength. After 49 days without walking I can’t even stand up. I lost 16 kilos. Now I take 8 tablets a day. I still have to do a lung scan, heart checks and rehabilitation therapy for breathing. I’ll have it for months. And then, the psychological backlash is not to be underestimated … Over time, when you go back with your mind to all my suffering and that of my loved ones, it is all very difficult to accept “.
When you hear about health dictatorship, what do you think?
“These people who protest because they do not want to get vaccinated, I would take them to the intensive care units where there are intubated patients. I have also seen the suffering and sacrifice of doctors and nurses, harnessed for hours without being able to even take a break. I get very angry now when I hear some absurd talk about the vaccine “.
Come back?
“I would have given top priority to prophylaxis. Now, to friends who call me, I always tell you to get vaccinated immediately, because with covid you risk losing your life. Being very attentive to all the rules, I felt safe. I remember that there had been the open day in Catania to get the vaccine without booking, but I missed that opportunity, I don’t know why, perhaps due to a mishap. I think sometimes we are a bit neglected and we give too much importance to work. I was so lucky to have another chance. And now I want others not to do like me. Health comes first. Without it, there is nothing more ”.
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