Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
GP describes her Covid-19 journey
Former GP Dr Stephanie De Giorgio fell ill while treating patients on the A&E ward at Margate’s QEQM Hospital. She and some of her family have since suffered the typical symptoms of Covid-19, but have not been ill enough to warrant an admission to hospital as an inpatient. It means neither she, her husband, or daughters have a confirmed diagnosis. Recalling how the illness developed, Dr De Giorgio, who lives in Whitfield, said: “I started feeling weird and happened to be checking in my bag to get ready for work. I took my temperature and it was really high.
“I have to confess to being initially quite scared, even though I’m a doctor and know all about it – or perhaps because I’m a doctor and I know all about it.
“I was really nervous and had a little cry. I suffered from extreme fatigue, unlike anything I’ve ever had before, and I fainted on the kitchen floor and felt very wobbly on my feet. I had a headache and even on day 12 my fever is going up and down and it is getting really tiring.
“I really wanted to get through to day nine and day 10 because we know that people who do get worse tend to get worse around day seven to nine. That was a time I wanted to get past and I did and I was very grateful. “Interestingly enough, I have asthma and it hasn’t affected my chest at all.”
Dr De Giorgio’s husband – also a doctor – has had shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, gastrointestinal issues, significant nausea and has developed an odd sense of smell, which experts have been seeing in some confirmed Covid-19 cases. Their youngest daughter has had slight symptoms and the eldest none at all.
With it is presently understood that those who have had coronavirus are unlikely to contract it again, Dr Ge Giorgio will return to the wards when she is well enough.
“I know that my team in A&E has been changed into the team that are seeing the patients who are well enough to walk in with respiratory symptoms,” she said.
“I will be going back wearing full PPE as we have to make sure I’m still not exposed, because we don’t know whether once you’ve had the virus you’re immune to it – the science is still out on that, and so anyone who has had had symptoms shouldn’t presume that they are immune to it. “They should continue to take all the precautions we’re asking people to do, because we simply don’t know at the moment whether you can catch it again.
“The thing to remember is that most of us will get better. We’ll feel awful for a while but we will get better.”