I was discharged from the St George Regional Intermountain Hospital on Wednesday February 17, 2021. I have been on home care since then and am now into my second week. When discharged I and other covid patients receive instructions and a diagnosis. The diagnosis are confidential and protected from release under HIPAA. I am providing mine to show the possible long term effects of covid. The diagnosis do not take into consideration the psychological effects for the patient, their families, and caregivers. I had always thought myself to be fairly healthy and resilient to illness. In addition to being a university professor I had a 41 year career in the military as an active duty soldier and reservist. Being in the military, physical conditioning is a big part of a soldiers life. I retired from the military in 2014. Two years later I had a blood clot in my left leg which moved to my lungs resulting in a pulmonary embolism which is part of this diagnosis. I am a 67 year old white male. My age alone puts me into a covid high risk category. I didn’t think about the embolism as adding to that until I was hospitalized. As I looked at this list I had to search the terms to both find out what they meant and their potential consequences for my quality and longevity of life. I did not like what I learned! My first follow up appointment is March 4. I suspect given the number and potential consequences of some of the diagnosis I will see specialists. All of this is because I contacted covid. My story is not unlike other covid survivors. The take home message from this is it was preventable. Following CDC guidance is not about restriction freedom; it is about protecting it. I spend a large part of my life protecting freedom. With freedom come great responsibility to ensure we protect the rights and privileges of others. One other consequence of covid which I just became aware of is how it affected my scheduling a follow up appointment with a provider. My spouse and daughter spent a day on the phone and online to schedule an appointment. My spouse asked one of the schedulers why it was so difficult. She was told because of covid many local providers are helping to cover down on patient loads at hospitals as the demand for covid caregivers increased. One of my ICU nurses who was with me for 5 days which consisted of 12 hour shifts was detailed from the U of U. Covid unit to help in St George. She helped me through the toughest time and help chart a path for me that I credit to me being alive today. How do thank someone like that?
