Inesfeelsluckyshe avoidedhospital
BRAY woman Ines Collins feels fine now, having recovered from Covid-19.
‘My symptoms were in the middle of March and went on for about a week or 10 days,’ she said.
She had a headache, temperature, and stomach problems. ‘I couldn’t taste things very well and had exhaustion and aches and pains. It was like a flu,’ she said.
‘I’ve had many viruses over the years. I’ve had bronchiectasis, and TB twice.’ She said that the headache and temperature ‘went on and on’.
She thought it was ‘just another virus’ and didn’t think it was Covid-19.
As she wasn’t getting any better, Ines decided to contact her GP who referred her for testing. ‘I was tested on March 26 and didn’t hear anything until April 6 so I was better by then,’ she said.
She was really surprised to learn that her test was positive, and relieved to be well as she would be classed as vulnerable to any lung disease.
She had tuberculosis as a young child, and then in 2017 she found herself getting a lot of chest infections. ‘Finally I said to the doctor I wanted it investigating, because there must be something. It was discovered that I had TB. I had to have six months of huge amounts of antibiotics.’
She was three years old when she first had TB, and doesn’t really remember. It was thought that she would have immunity, and while most people got the BCG vaccine, she did not. ‘ There’s a theory that the BCG might be giving some people immunity,’ said Ines.
She has no idea where or how she contracted Covid-19. ‘I work as a psychotherapist so could be in a room with a person or couple for an hour at a time. If anyone had it I could pick it up.’
She got a recurrence of symptoms a couple of weeks ago, with the headaches, temperature and exhaustion. That was a bit worrying, she said.
‘I called a friend, I call her my “doctor” as she’s someone who has had lung conditions and been through a lot. She suggested antibiotics to ward off any other infections. ‘I went on a course of antibiotics and since then I’ve been fine,’ said Ines.
She remained at home, and used paracetamol, and plenty of fluids, getting plenty of rest. She also used headache medication, and said that the headache was not responding to anything. ‘I have good friends and neighbours and people who would drop things to me,’ said Ines. ‘It’s certainly a very unpleasant illness. It seems to have all sorts of twists and turns and affects people in many different ways. I count myself very lucky considering the underlying conditions I had. The worst case scenario would be ending up on a ventilator. That would be my worst fear. But the version I had was mild enough to recover without going to hospital.’ Now she is enjoying a daily walk, getting out in the fresh air and enjoying the scenic surroundings in Bray.
Ines is able to continue working, with sessions taking place on the phone, Skype or Zoom. The family therapist works in the Clanwilliam Institute in Stillorgan as well as Bray Counselling and Therapy Centre, and she provides supervision for therapists who require that for their continuing professional development.
‘Be kind and appreciative of each other,’ is her top piece of advice for people who may experience tension in their families or relationships at the moment. ‘It can feel very hard to find kind thoughts and words, but it’s not too hard, and it can go a long way in relationships,’ said Ines.