Despite the rising number of confirmed COVID-19 patients, what gives us hope is the possibility of recovering from the virus. As of 4 p.m. today, March 30, there are 1,546 confirmed cases according to the Department of Health. In the same report, there are 42 individuals who have already recovered, and one of them is Rogelio Bueno, Jr.
In a public Facebook post uploaded on Sunday, March 29, Bueno identified himself as patient number 358 (PH358). According to an official release from the Department of Health (DOH), PH358 is a 35-year-old Filipino male from Quezon City, with no travel history and exposure history. His symptoms began on March 6 and was confirmed positive for COVID-19 on March 21. He was discharged on March 28 after being asymptomatic and having one negative test result.
Bueno narrates his experience in his post, saying that his symptoms started with a fever and a temperature reading of 37.8 degrees Celsius. “I just took paracetamol and slept it off,” Bueno writes. “I woke up around late that night, bought kimchi because I haven’t had dinner yet and I want something spicy because it seems that I lost my sense of taste.”
The following day, Bueno’s fever shot up and he could no longer get out of bed. He also had difficulty breathing but chalked it up to the surgical mask he was wearing. He slept for a bit and then decided to go to a nearby hospital for a checkup because he was feeling very weak. His wife, Joanna, told him that it could be COVID-19, but Bueno was in denial. “Malakas katawan ko and ang taba ko, ‘di ako tatablan niyan,” was his response.
At the emergency room, Bueno underwent blood tests and urinalysis. He was diagnosed with “Systemic Viral Illness,” and was sent home.
On Thursday, Bueno returned to the family home in Las Piñas. “I went directly to our third floor for isolation because I didn’t want my family to catch my sickness. I didn’t even get to see them,” he recalls.
That night, Bueno’s symptoms worsened. Apart from the fever, he was having an even harder time breathing and could only speak in short sentences, “and then I would be breathless,” he writes. He said he was given “Pip-Taz, Ceftriaxone (both antibiotics), and paracetamol IV.”
On Friday, when he had more trouble breathing, his mother decided to take him to the hospital for some more blood tests.
“My C-reactive protein (inflammatory marker) was more than 10 times the normal value,” Bueno explains. “Saturday morning, my mom brought me to the emergency room because my fever was not going down and I was having difficulty breathing again, and this time, I could only give one-word answers.”
He writes, “At the ER, blood was again extracted to the point that I could not even feel the pain after numerous needle insertion, even the ABG [Arterial blood gas test] because all that [mattered] was my breathing.”
He describes how hard it was for him to breathe: “I [felt like I] was drowning and [would] gasp for air even though I had oxygen via nasal cannula.”
Bueno had pre-existing conditions—he is “asthmatic, diabetic, and hypertensive—and so this made him immunocompromised. “My blood sugar was twice [the normal level] and blood pressure went as high as 150/90,” he shares.
Finally, a COVID-19 test was done. He describes the test as “very painful — they insert one very long stick per nostril, and one for the throat swab.”
Bueno shares that he stayed in the ward of an unnamed hospital, and it was the last time he saw his family again. His mother and other members of his family also had to self-quarantine for 14 days because of exposure.
While he was given very strong antibiotics, part of Bueno's battle was also with his mind. “I was already giving up and was preparing myself for the [worst],” he writes.
But his wife would ask him to fight. “She told me to pray... and just concentrate on getting better, telling me to repeat, ‘Gagaling ako, may purpose pa ako,’” he writes.
On his sixth day at the hospital, Bueno’s test results came back — he was positive for COVID-19. By this time, however, he was feeling better (though he still had difficulty breathing and diarrhea because of the meds). While chest x-rays showed that he had “progressing pneumonia,” his breathing was also improving.
On his 11th day, Bueno had enough energy to move around by himself and even managed to take a bath; the next day, his COVID-19 test result came back negative. The day after that, he could go without assisted ventilation.
Finally, on Day 14, he was declared asymptomatic and ready for discharge. On Day 15, he was able to go home but was still advised to go on quarantine for 14 more days.
“I’m just thankful to have survived COVID-19,” Bueno writes. “I’m happy to be alive. I will take this opportunity to cherish my family and loved ones more, to be a better person and to live life to the fullest. I'm patient 358 and I'm a COVID-19 survivor.”
According to the World Health Organization, around 95% of those who have acquired COVID-19 can recover or are recovering from the virus.
Main image by Allie Smith on Unsplash; for illustrative purposes only.