The testimony of Dino, who is 45 years old and has one Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, successfully subjected to myectomy over 10 years ago.
It came to me directly inside the walls of the house, most likely transmitted by my son. I can say it almost with certainty, because in those days in his class (a fourth grade) a small outbreak broke out. On the other hand, the other opportunities for exchange and social life for me, a smart-working worker for over a year, are now reduced to a flicker.
It all started with a fever: a few lines during the day, while in the evening the temperature rose steadily around 38-38,5. A pattern that repeated for two weeks. Done the swab, result: positive! Almost immediately, moreover, I began to experience a discomfort in the throat, such as an irritation to the upper airways, which then over time turned into a dry cough. No alteration of taste or smell. On the advice of the general practitioner, I immediately equipped myself with an oximeter; in my case, fortunately, the saturation always remained at good levels, never dropping below 95, even when the cough became more insistent. A sign that the infection has never compromised the lungs. After the first five days of fever, considering the stationary situation, the doctor first prescribed cortisone (deltacortene, 50 mg / day, carried on for ten days and then reduced) and an antibiotic. Normally, in these cases, a drug with anticoagulant effects is also associated, but since I am already on Coumadin therapy there was no need. Also on the advice of the doctor, I also kept blood pressure under control, because sometimes cortisone can cause an increase, which fortunately did not occur in my case. Initially, the effects of drug therapy were mild, and then became more and more consistent… for better or for worse. The antibiotic, for example, resulted in three days of severe diarrhea. But around the fourteenth day the fever disappeared and I finally got out of the tunnel.
Today, twenty-six days into the infection, I am fine and I have only a little cough and residual phlegm left to expel. With my Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, the thing that bothered me more than any other was the fever. It hadn't been for years and at this juncture I was able to experience how even small rises in temperature push my heart rate up: some evenings I measured even 100 beats per minute in a situation of absolute rest and 110-120 in motion. Going to bed and trying to fall asleep in these conditions was not at all easy, in those days already stressful and characterized by anxiety it seemed to be constantly busy running a marathon. The other noteworthy aspect is that the duration of the quarantine is not certain and can also become very long: on Thursday I will do the third control swab and I hope that this time the outcome is not (weakly) positive as the previous ones, which for now they mean isolation with indefinite times. In the long run, I believe that the psychological component assumes an important weight, with increasing impacts on psycho-physical well-being.
I am very happy with how things went. I haven't had many complications, perhaps for my relatively young age, but now I'm looking forward to getting out on my bike and enjoying some spring air.