I got Covid

rosa larios Nurse Hospital Virgen del Mar

I have managed to get the fatigue under control. I do my breathing exercises and all that, but I still have muscle aches, particularly in my legs.

When we started the year we saw on tv about the virus in China, but never imagined it would affect us so profoundly. It crept up on us suddenly. First there were two or three patients, then it suddenly grew. All the beds filled up and people came in very unwell, with fever and problems with oxygen saturation levels. We didn’t know what to do. You would come out of a room and find another person had died.

I have lived in Spain for twelve years and worked at this clinic for ten of them. I am single and my whole family, who live in Peru, have been very worried. I have no family here, only friends. I had been hoping to visit my family in October, but I couldn’t.

At the end of March I was on a night shift and started to feel the symptoms coming on. I did the pcr test at the same hospital and it was positive. When I went home I felt I was going to be fine and I would be able to control it, but that’s not how it went. I ended up having to go to hospital and all in all I was in hospital for a month and four days.

My colleagues were so kind to me. I know it was very strange for them to now have me as a patient. I didn’t have to be intubated, just given oxygen. What kept me in hospital longer was the fever. Then I got better and was able to come home.

MADRID — SPAIN

I was really unwell in April. I could hardly walk, my legs were sore and I was very tired. I set myself exercises for the morning and afternoon and gradually improved.

I went back to work at the end of June. I really wanted to go back but I must say I am a bit afraid.

I wasn’t the only one who got Covid. One colleague was intubated and another in hospital for seven days, but has already managed to go back to work. Another colleague has recovered but isn’t back at work yet. It seems they have neurological problems. This virus has many after effects - sometimes it’s fatigue. In my case, it’s pains in my legs.

My colleagues were my nurses and I was the patient. �