Covid-19: The biggest test

In December 2020, my dad nearly died of Covid.

I’m not exaggerating. He was on a ventilator and the consultant told my mum on the phone that he was the sickest patient in the hospital and she needed to be prepared for the worst.

Remarkably, 15 days after that phone call, he left hospital.

He made a full recovery. He didn’t even have long Covid. His hearing and his eyesight got slightly worse and he lost a bit of pace at parkrun, but he was 75 at the time. A bit of decline is to be expected, even when you haven’t nearly died of Covid.

But from the end of November 2020 right through to the end of December, we had all been to hell and back. And we never wanted to go there again.

Since then, our biggest fear with Covid has always been that my dad would get it again. And that next time the outcome wouldn’t be as good.

We hoped it would never happen. But then there was wave after wave of Covid. Who knows what wave we are in now? Who knows when one wave ended and another one started? A lot of people were getting Covid for a second or third time. It was inevitable that at some point he would get it again.

But my parents are pretty careful. They don’t generally go to crowded places. They’re not full-time mask wearers, but they wear them more than most people and would wear one if they did go to a crowded place.

Their absolute favourite thing is Cheltenham Literature Festival. Over the course of 10 days in October, they go to 20 or 30 events every year.

Cheltenham Literature Festival is a crowded place.

It started on Friday 7th October. On Monday 10th October, my dad felt like he’d got a cold. On Tuesday 11th October, he tested positive for Covid.

This was the true test. Now we would really see how effective the vaccines are.

My dad, who is now 77, has had his first three jabs and his spring booster. He was due to get his autumn booster on 17th October.

On the first day, I was reassured that his symptoms were no worse than a bad cold.

But the worry was still there.

On the second day, I was informed that he’d done some gardening and cleaned the bathroom. I was so happy.

But then my husband reminded me that had happened ‘last time’. So I kept worrying.

On the third day, I bumped into him and my mum walking round the park. I eased up on the worrying.

(For the record, I think it’s great that you are ‘allowed’ to go out with Covid. I wouldn’t support anyone going into a shop or crowded place, but a walk in the open air, a long way from other people is a good thing to do, mentally and physically.)

By the fourth day, he was pretty much better. His symptoms had never got worse than a bad cold. He tested negative exactly a week after he tested positive.

Meanwhile, my mum, who had never had Covid before, started feeling ill on Saturday 15th October and tested positive on Sunday 16th October. She’s 74, so wasn’t eligible for the spring booster. Like my dad, she was due to get her autumn booster on 17th October.

She was feeling pretty ill on 17th October, much worse than my dad had been. But I went to drop some shopping off for them and she came down the stairs. (For me, being able to get up and down stairs is a real test of how ill you are.)

She felt a bit better the next day and by Wednesday 19th October she was walking round the park with my dad. After that, she was feeling pretty good. She tested negative on 23rd October.

I’m so grateful that we made it through Covid’s biggest test unscathed. Covid isn’t ‘just a cold’. It manifests itself with symptoms similar to a cold (and sometimes even milder than that) for some people, but that is largely because they’ve had their vaccines. Without the vaccines, who knows what could have happened to my dad this time round?