Doug's COVID Diary:

My dad, Doug Miesen, came back from his block of shifts in the ER and settled into his quarantine room. He felt fine until 3 days after his last shift when he started feeling chest congestion on July 2nd, 2020. This is his diary of his experience with COVID:

T = temperature

SOB = shortness of breath

O2 sat = oxygen saturation (normally should be 95% or above, but it’s not worrying until it breaks 90%)

Day 1: (T 99.9) Started with chest congestion, then body aches. Still felt good. I was using my workshop as a 2nd quarantine space and doing some small projects there.

Day 2: (T 102.5) Body aches, mild cough, and headache. I drove to a testing facility and the COVID-19 test returned positive later that day. I was still feeling well enough to do workshop projects.

Day 3: (T 99.1) Headache got better, almost gone. I still had body aches and fatigue. Mild cough but now with a sore throat that was fairly painful with cough. Episodes of cold sweats when I spontaneously found himself drenched in sweat and lots of flatulence.

Day 4: (T 101.0 then 98.0 in the late afternoon) Woke up with similar body aches but less fatigue. Sore throat was better. Minimal cough. No SOB. I stayed in the quarantine room. I didn’t return to the workshop. My appetite has been great.

Day 5: (T 99.7 then 100.8) Woke up with more body aches and headaches. Mild sore throat, no cough, or no SOB. Broke out in cold sweat. Loss of appetite.

Day 6: (T100.4) More body aches and fatigue. Mild headache and sore throat. Mild cough and yellow phlegm. Loss of appetite.

Day 7: (T100.3) More body aches and fatigue. Mild cough. Sore throat is almost gone. No SOB. Appetite seems to come back.

Day 8: (T102.0) Feeling better. Still achy and fatigue. I didn’t eat much dinner. Getting chills at night.

Day 9: More coughing and body aches. No SOB. Felt better in the morning. Didn’t eat much of dinner and reported not feeling well.

Day 10: (T 101.9) Feeling better, coughing more, no SOB. Good appetite.

Day 11: (T 101.5) I have been monitoring my O2 sat and it has been 94% or better.

Day 12: (T 102) Cough. Good appetite for lunch but not dinner. Noticed my O2 sat starting to dip to 92%. Body aches and generally feeling like crap. Using the shower is a major task and I feel like I might pass out while in the shower.

Ordered Prednisone and started 40 mg later that day.

Day 13: No fever. Cough. Fair appetite. Noticed some pain in my big toes. Started aspirin for concern for microthrombi. Too sick to use shower.

Day 14: No fever. O2 sat mostly 92% or above but occasionally dipping to 90%. Feeling very weak and don’t want to shower but I decide that I may need to go to the hospital and don’t want to go in dirty. I take a shower but feel like I may pass out the whole time.

It’s at this point when I start seeing some of my sicker patients in myself and wonder if I’m going to progress the way they did and end up in the ICU. Start to seriously consider that I might not survive this thing and now am having serious thoughts about my mortality.

Day 15: My O2 sat is now 90% but dips lower when I move. I still never feel SOB. I just get really dizzy and nauseated when I exert myself. I see my O2 sat go very low when I exert myself. So low that I don’t believe the number (in denial at this point).

I messaged my PCP to request home O2. Later that day I get an O2 concentrator and 3 tanks delivered to my doorstep. My O2 goes up to 95% and I’m feeling much better.

Day 16: Ended isolation. Moving around. Doing some light work in the workshop again. Dragging O2 tanks around the house now feeling like a nursing home patient. After several days of poor appetite my weight is now 161 lbs. Went into quarantine at 170 lbs. I had already lost weight just before getting sick so it really shows. I have abs! (OK, I look emaciated but my abs are showing for the first time since college.)

Day 17: O2 sat 91% w/o oxygen on. Dips lower when I go to bed.

Day 18: Easily fatigued. Notice my heart rate jumps to 130s with mild exertion.

Day 19: O2 sat still at 95% w/ O2 on. Coughing up lots of phlegm.

Day 20: Easily fatigued. Do some light activity in the morning in the workshop with portable O2. Need to take 2 hour naps in the afternoon to recover.

Day 21: No O2 during the day but needed it at night. First night sleeping in my own bed.

Day 22: O2 level goes lower when I lie down. Still easily fatigued.

Day 23: Noticed some blood in the phlegm last night. Messaged my PCP to suggest CT scan to rule out pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs). He arranged for STAT CT to be done at the imaging center. Had it done about an hour after I messaged him.

Got the CT and report given to me within 10 minutes after. The result was negative for pulmonary embolism.

Day 27: O2 sat stable at night. Stopped O2

Day 28: Completely off O2. Feeling more energetic but nowhere near full strength. On the road to recovery.