Covid-19: A survival case with late DIY treatment ( updated on 20th December 2021)

Pak Eddy YCS  was my secondary GBS school classmate

Eddy stood at top row , 3rd person from left side. ( photo taken in 1981, form 4 Science 1)

 He is a very energetic person who has tremendous experiences in production operational & project management in Myanmar,  China and presently Indonesia. Recently, he suffered from Covid-19 infection with  late detection. He  went through a very tough journey with loads of cross checking against friends , doctors , pharmacists and a doctor friend who had suffered covid-19 last year  .  As hospitals and clinics at Surabaya are fully occupied,  he had no choice but to seek help while performing DIY approaches  at his outskirt house that's about 50km away from Surabaya.   Mentally,  he possessed that strong mindset,  determination,   meticulous attitude in checking , learning and execution.  Thanks to his kindness in sharing some of his recordings throughout those challenging period right from 10th July till 5th August 2021. 

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Briefly ; 

12 Jun : Pak Eddy's flight back to Surabaya, Indonesia.  

Flight is pretty crowded .

12 - 25 Jun 2021 : 14 days Quarantine,  a good isolation approach! 

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The Uncertainty Stage [ first 10 days of misleading information]

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7 July : Close Contact with the person who tested  positive at later stage.  Of course,  Pak Eddy is always disciplined,  adhering to SOP of face masks and social distancing.  

10 July : Pak Eddy felt sick at night & skipped dinner. He initially thought it was a gastric attack as he has pre-existing gastric/ulcer issues.  

13 July : Antigen Rapid test - negative 

14 July : Temperature was back to normal again.    He assumed he was ok.  However,  the close contact from 7 July   died on this day due to covid-19.  

16 July : Pak Eddy  felt unwell & went to see a Doctor in the nearby clinic  in the afternoon. He rechecked all his temp, O2 level, blood pressure & lung condition which were all normal. The doctor  gave him multi-Vit & sleeping pills for his anxiety.  

17 July : He performed  PCR swab test . 

The Late Confirmation Stage [ Crisis management in Pulmonary phase ]

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19th July : Result out at about 9pm, positive with PCR's  CT reading at 26  😨😰,  which was in day 10 since falling sick on 10th July.  It was late of course and something had to be  done immediately . He started his 1st course of covid medicine: antibiotics (Azytromycin ) , antiviral (Methisoprinol) , Anti Platelet blood thinning  and other Vitamin supplements.   

   38.3degC / 93% O2

20th July : continued  medicine as above . He managed to buy  Steroid (Dexametasone) & consumed it 3x/day. 

  38.3degC / 93% O2

21st July : continued medicine as above.      

  39.1degC / 93% O2

22nd July : continued  medicine as above.    

   38.1degC / 85% O2

23rd July : continued medicine as above plus  Ivermectin 1x.  

   38.1degC / 85% O2

24 July : continued medicine as above  but change in antibiotics (Levofloxavin). Also started to use Oxygen Concentrator Treatment Machine ( YuWell brand ) with proning posture. 

     37.7degC / 93% O2

25 July : continued  medicine & treatment as above.  He consumed Steroid (Dexametasone) 3x/day but no Ivermectin ( no stock ).    

     37.7degC / 93% O2

26 July : continued medicine & treatment as above but Ivermectin 1x/day , Steroid (Dexametasone)  2x/day .      

     38.7degC / 93% O2

27 July : continued medicine above.     

     38.7degC / 93% O2

28 July : continued  medicine & treatment as above. 

     38.38.3degC/ 93% O2

29 July : continued medicine & treatment as above but Ivermectin 2x/day , Steroid (Dexametasone) 1x/day.

     38.1degC / 93% O2

30 July : continued medicine & treatment above. 

     37.8degC / 95%O2

The Stabilising Stage [ Oxygen back to norm]

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31 July : Continued medicine & treatment as above. 

      37.5degC / 95%O2

      No more fever. 

1 Aug :  Continued medicine & treatment as above.

      37.5degC / 95% O2

2 Aug : Continued medicine & treatment as above  but stopped Ivermectin.  

       37.5degC / 95% O2

3 Aug : Continued medicine & treatment as above . 

        37.5degC / 95% O2

The Final Healing Stage [ pneumonia treatment]

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This is a lung healing process under the local doctor.   It takes some time to heal.  😃

Will give another update by end October. 

Updates ( 3rd Nov 2021) as follows:

☝ end July 2021.  Walking steps was so challenging.  

☝ 29th July 2021.

☝ 16th August 2021

☝ 16th September 2021.

Some good healing results can be observed.  

He is a very determined person indeed, continuously walking daily without fail in order to boost up his immune system.  Following is his tracking in October2021: 

Next update on his X-ray result is December 2021.  Please see below as December 2021 X-ray update;

Doctor said Pak Eddy has recovered well. 

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Lessons Learned and comments 

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1. When you're not feeling well, do not take things for granted with tendency to overlook. Seek for help. Early signs of Pak Eddy were loss of appetite,  feeling chilled,  body ache,  dry mouth , reluctant to wake up,  fever.    Early medication is absolutely essential to avoid pulmonary phase ( category III onwards). 

2. Don't lock your door because you never will know when emergency situation will arise. 

3. One must eat adequately.   Don't fast. 

4. Standby O2 Concentrator machine or O2 tank if possible when you are infected with covid-19.  

5. Always have a good quality thermometer and Oxymeter to check your temperature regularly as well as your oxygen saturation level.  Avoid buying the cheaper version that ends up misleading the reading. 

6. Always go for PCR swab test instead of RTK. 

7. Covid-19 medication can potentially generate stomach gastric ( at least Pak Eddy's case). Always standby gastric pills . 

8. Our buddy sister Esther advised us to understand the following chart 

and watch the YouTube video by Dr Mathew Varghese  , " Managing Covid-19 through timelines " carefully.  For example,  understand the initial 5 days ( Symptomatic) treatment upon  discovering Covid-19 symptoms ( sore throat,  cough, body ache,  fever , headache,  loose motion occasionally). Vitamins , anti inflammatory agents,  play an important role in the process of healing . 

80% of the people recover after 5 days . 

10 to 20% will creep into  dangerous pulmonary phase of the virus infection.  

Watch  Dr Mathew's key points with respect to steroid and anticoagulants medicines treatment in preventing cytokine storm and blood clotting respectively.  Dr Mathew's opinion is that  Ivermectin and Remdesivir  may not be effective.  

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Appreciations 

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Personal sincere appreciation by Pak Eddy :

1. GBS classmate- Esther, Koh DH 

2. Bro & sister- sister  Doreen who has made the quick decision to buy the O2 concentrator machine. 

3. Doreen's colleague in Indonesia 

- Surabaya : Shelvy who referred me to Dr Marshall 

- Jakarta: Juliana who assisted in finding and sending Ivermectin to me .

4. Colleagues 

- My boss in S'pore who connected me to his Surabaya Admin family Dr who supplied me the 1st & 2nd course of Covid medication 

- my expats colleague 1 who cooked for me and brought it to my room 

- my expats colleague 2 who helped me in terms of  logistics by supplying hot & normal water daily 

5. Wife who gave me moral support and relevant information about foods that are good for lung. 

6. My son who connects to his Buddhist religion and prayed for my speedy recovery 

7. My daughters who send me good wishes & prayers 

8. In-laws group. 

- Sister in law : A nun who chanted for me daily 

- Bro in law : Prayed for me 

- mother in law & grandma in law who gave good advises 

9. Others …

- local friends from Surabaya & Malang who shared their medication with me.

- TanDL and old GBS buddies . 

Finally, thanks to everyone, directly or indirectly for volunteering their effort & prayers … 🙏🙏🙏💕

That is why, I am BLESSED to have many available resources to assist me during this crisis ! 🙏🙏🙏💕

So it is good to still keep in contact with your relatives & friends. They may be able to assist you through the crisis one day.

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75kg before the infection 

70kg , after those critical times,  28 days later.    A blessing that he went through this DIY  struggling process successfully. 

His outskirt company house , 50km away from Surabaya.   Beautiful kampung environment !

Daily walking is a must for Pak Eddy as to boost up his immune system as well as healing process.  

Can't imagine if Malaysia suffered 30thou cases a day where  hospitals & clinics are fully occupied and  infected covid-19 patients would probably need to do  DIY approach from home ? 🤔🤔

Thanks for reading.  🙏

The purpose of this write-up is to share Pak Eddy 's  real life unusual DIY experience  which may differ from other people. 

picture taken in December 2021.  He is back to normal now 👍🤟.

Best wishes , 

Tay KC

An old classmate of Pak Eddy in GBS

Melaka , Malaysia  🇲🇾 

14th July 2021

Disclaimer:

The above information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice,  emergency treatment or formal first aid training.   Don't use this information to diagnose or develop a treatment plan for a health problem or disease without consulting a qualified health care provider.