My experience with Covid-19 and Omnicron as a Lupus Patient.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, I like many others, found myself stuck at home feeling anxious, overwhelmed and helpless. The news of a new and fast-spreading disease was absolutely terrifying to the whole world and especially to those who were elderly, or in my case high-risk. In later 2017 I was diagnosed with Lupus which is a rather aggressive autoimmune disease that affects mostly women ages 15-44.Lupus affects the immune system; my immune system attacks itself for no rhyme or reason, which causes me to get sick. I had to be put on steroids in order to control my immune system; in order to manage the disease, my immune system has to be weakened so that it will not attack my body.I have been in remission since 2018; although, my Lupus is no longer active I still have side effects from the disease similar to Fibromyalgia and Arthritis.
When Covid-19 started to appear throughout Canada, I was very scared, as were the majority of the people in Ontario. It was known at the time that people who died from the disease were elderly people or people who had a pre-existing condition. A lot of people my age, early twenties, were not scared of the disease because they knew most likely they would be okay. Similar to other high-risk individuals I was petrified of getting sick. Lupus affected my lungs and I had a tiny hole the size of a pea in my left lung which made it impossible for me to breathe. Covid-19 affected the lungs specifically, causing people to go on ventilators so they could survive. Needless to say, I tried absolutely all the measures I could to protect myself from getting COVID-19.
In April of 2021, I caught COVID-19 and I was absolutely terrified. At first, I was in denial about it; I was feeling fatigued and sore but that is not out of the ordinary for me due to my disease. However, when I lost my sense of smell and taste I knew something was wrong. I ended up getting tested and I was in fact positive. My symptoms were mild, in fact, they were not severe at all; it turns out the medication Lupus patients are treated with, Imuran is the medication that is used to treat COVID-19 patients. At that point in time, I had about four years worth of Imuran in my system so I turned out to be okay! However, not all high-risk patients are as fortunate.
My cousin Lizette of Brampton, who also has an autoimmune disease had contracted COVID-19 in December of 2020. Lizette comments, “So when this pandemic started two years ago, I immediately became frightened because I’m immune-compromised due to medications that I take for my Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.” Lizette’s experience with COVID-19 was aggressive and deadly, unfortunately, her body could not fight off the illness the same way mine could. Lizette continues,
“So, I went to Toronto General because my health was going downhill FAST, and what I needed to save my life was a machine called ECMO. Brampton Civic doesn’t have these machines. Brampton had to beg Toronto General to accept me into their ICU because if they didn’t I would’ve been dead by the end of the day on December, 20th.”
If the doctors at Brampton Civic did not make the decision to send Lizette to the Toronto hospital she could not be alive today. As soon as things seem to get better, a newer and fast-spreading variant appears “Omicron.” At this point, I had been vaccinated and also had my booster, so I was not as fearful of the variant although I was aware of the consequences of the illness. My cousin Lizette shares her fear of the illness.
“Now, with this new variant out there, I’m scared out of my mind! I have my three Pfizer vaccines but because I’m immune-compressed I can still get it. I have a fear if I get sick again, how bad will I get and will I be so lucky the survive the second time around?”
Unfortunately for me, I did in fact contract the variant Omicron as well and my symptoms this time around were much more severe. Due to me having such a weak immune system I believe I was much more affected by Omicron because it has more in common with the flu or cold. This time around, I was the only one who contracted Omnicron in my family which is a relief, the rest of my family is vaccinated so it seemed they were more protected this time around. Whereas the first time we all contracted COVID-19 my entire family besides me were extremely ill and sick. The first time I had COVID-19 I was only ill for about three days, and by ill, I mean tired and no appetite. However, with Omicron I was sick closer to ten days and had a terrible migraine and nausea for the majority of the time. Either way, I came out alive and healthy and I am extremely thankful for that, for some individuals like Lizette, were not so lucky.
Reggy, a nurse who also suffers from Lupus has been anxious to work at the hospital during this time. Similar to myself, Reggy experiences Lupus flares and also encountered major inflammation after receiving her vaccines and booster shot. Reggy shares, “I haven't suffered from the virus, but the stress from it has caused many flares therefore lots of sick call calls at work. I am feeling more anxious than usual, like everyone. Working at the hospital hasn't been easy.”
Ultimately, this time is not easy for anyone, for this anomaly of an illness seems to get worse day by day. Yet, things are never easy for someone who is a high-risk individual, whether it is cancer, arthritis or something as common as asthma. These times are scary for everyone, but if you are in good health and able-bodied do not forget how fortunate you truly are. For people like myself, Reggy and Lizette, who are immune-compromised a vaccine or booster shot will not be enough to protect us from the strike of COVID-19.
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