Patient who recovered from coronavirus wishes she wore face mask

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After 79 days in the hospital and several “close to death” calls, a COVID-19 survivor said that she might have avoided contracting the virus if only she had  worn a face mask.

Paola Castillo, 24, managed to get discharged from Medical City North Hills in Texas, USA, last Wednesday, July 15, as per NBC-owned KTVT on the same day.

Castillo was rushed to the emergency department of the hospital on April 27, after experiencing COVID-19 symptoms including fever, cough and difficulty in breathing.

The patient recounted that she experienced the symptoms six days before being hospitalized. Castillo was placed on a ventilator within her first 24 hours at the hospital and was later on tested and confirmed positive for the coronavirus.

Her husband and mother were told by the hospital that her state was “touch and go,” as Castillo spent more than a month in the intensive care unit (ICU) on a ventilator. The ordeal also deteriorated her ability to do basic physical activities such as talking, swallowing and walking.

According to the report, therapists, nurses and other hospital staff helped her during her rehabilitation. On her 67th day in the hospital, caregivers assisted her as she walked outside her room to try to “feel the rain” inside the hospital.

“Maybe if I would have just listened and worn a mask, just a simple thing, I would have avoided all this,” Castillo was quoted as saying.  “I work at a bank – I’m always around people – but I was like I’m fine, I’m fine. Never did I think I’d catch it.”

When she was finally discharged, the hospital staff cheered and clapped for her while she was being wheeled out of the hospital. They celebrated her “fighting spirit and remarkable recovery against dismal odds,” but the doctors cautioned that Castillo’s road to recovery would have to continue even after she went home.

Dr. Hetal Rana, a physician who works at the hospital, revealed that they have been attending to an increasing number of young patients who have contracted the coronavirus. The doctor added in the report that the hospital employees were exhausted, as their COVID-19 unit has been “basically full” for the past six weeks.

“We’ve seen a lot of patients die in our hospital that were in her situation,” Rana said, referring to Castillo.

The woman’s recovery has also served as an inspiration to the frontline healthcare workers.

“It just kind of re-energizes you and gives you that sense of what it means to save someone’s life and to help someone overcome such a severe illness like this,” Rana was quoted as saying.

Wearing a mask has been the subject of debate in the US amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Some citizens refuse to wear face masks despite numerous states’ orders requiring people to wear them, saying it allegedly infringes on their freedom. As of yesterday, July 17, the US has a total of 3.55 million cases of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center’s map also showed that the US remains at the top spot of countries with the most number of confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world, followed by Brazil (with 2.04 million cases), India (1.3 million) and Russia (more than 758,000). Cha Lino /ra

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