34-year-old native of Belarus told the BBC how she had COVID-19 in the UK. When 34-year-old Evgeniya Tyler developed a cough and runny nose, she became concerned and called the hospital – only to be told it was just a cold and nothing to worry about. A week later, struggling to breathe and barely conscious, her boyfriend took her to the emergency room. After looking at Evgeniya’s lung x-ray, the doctor immediately told her that she had Covid-19. In an interview with the Russian service of the BBC, Evgenia talked about the symptoms, treatment and conditions in a British hospital, as well as the role that thyroid problems played in her illness.
First I had a mild cold, runny nose and sore throat. A week later, I developed a severe cold, stuffy nose, and sore eyes. I didn’t have a fever. This condition lasted for a few days. At that time, I called 111 (the British health care hotline – BBC). They said it was not the symptoms of a coronavirus, but a common cold.
When Evgenia called the emergency hotline, she was told she had a simple cold. On Tuesday afternoon I started coughing. It was not severe, I coughed a little. At 11 o’clock in the evening I suddenly felt a tightness in my chest. It felt like someone was stepping on my chest. I lost the ability to breathe deeply, it became very frightening and difficult. My friend and I tried to call the hotline. We waited 40 minutes for an answer. I had a panic attack, I couldn’t breathe. My boyfriend wanted to take me to the hospital – I was crying, begging not to go, thinking I would be thrown out. When I found it extremely difficult to breathe, my boyfriend grabbed me and took me to the hospital. He said, “If you’re going to die, it’s better to die on the steps of the hospital – there’s a much better chance you’ll get medical help.
Evgenia spent the night in the emergency room. She was in the ward with her boyfriend. When we got to the hospital, I stayed outside while my friend went inside. He was talking to a woman in a hazmat suit. She asked me if I had any symptoms. Three minutes later, I was in the hospital, lying on a bed. I was waiting for a nurse to take a blood test, but they brought me an inhaler to help me breathe. They took my blood and sent it for a lung X-ray. After the doctor saw my x-ray, he said I had coronavirus. I went to the emergency room. I spent the night there. I was in the ward with my boyfriend. I was given two intravenous drips and two Ventolin inhalers (a bronchodilator, also used to treat bronchial asthma attacks – BBC).
BBC correspondent on how life in Britain has changed radically in a matter of days. When I was taken off the drip, I walked down the hall to the bathroom and saw rooms with mostly women over 45 and elderly people. They were all on lung ventilators. What impressed me most was how quickly I was accepted and how quickly the medical staff knew what to do, how to relieve my breathing difficulties. I didn’t even have time to finish my sentence, to explain what was happening to me, and the doctors and nurses were nodding – they knew what to do. The doctors, it seems to me, are ready for what is happening now. When the crisis situation was over and I began to breathe normally, I was sent home.
Someone suggests that warm weather may slow the spread of the virus. Considering that there is no medication at the moment, it is better for me to stay at home. But the doctors said that if it gets worse, I can seek help again. When I found out I had coronavirus, I was very upset. Considering that I have a weak immune system, we tried to maintain social distance three weeks before I got sick. I didn’t use public transportation, my boyfriend worked from home and occasionally drove me to work. Therefore, I had very limited contact with others, which made me even more upset. In 2009 I had thyroid cancer. I underwent radiation therapy. So I have a weakened immune system. But I wouldn’t call myself a sick person. I exercise and feel normal. But in the situation with this virus, my previous illness played a big role.
Evgeny’s friend also contracted Covid-19, but the doctors told him to just wait it out. My boyfriend also contracted Covid-19. At the hospital they told us that because of his symptoms – cough and weakness – he also has the coronavirus. We live together and it would have been difficult to avoid it. But they did not prescribe any treatment, they did not do any tests, they just told him to wait. My respiratory symptoms are controlled by the medications I was given in the hospital. But when I returned home, I developed a runny nose with mucus from the upper respiratory tract. I was prescribed antibiotics to kill the infection that was developing.
“What impressed me most was how quickly the medical staff knew how to relieve my breathing difficulties. In the last few days I have had very severe coughing fits that are very difficult to control with the medications I have been prescribed. That’s why friends of mine gave me Ventolin and a nebulizer (inhaler). The doctors told me to continue self-isolation and social distancing even after recovery – it is still unclear how immunity will behave. Editor’s note: The list of coronavirus symptoms can be found on the websites of WHO and Rospotrebnadzor. The described symptoms and treatment methods are individual and should not be used as a recommendation for action.