Murcian Maria Jose Martinez She was one of the “first people infected in the region” during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The coronavirus has taken a toll on her, including physical and cognitive fatigue. He took part in the documentary Inside: “It encouraged me to think I would improve, but I wasn’t very optimistic,” he admits.
What consequences has the coronavirus pandemic had on you?
My biggest issue is physical and cognitive fatigue. I need frequent breaks. There are a lot of things I used to do that I can’t do now, like exercising or enjoying reading, because I can’t concentrate. I can’t do any activities that involve loud noise, like gatherings with friends, concerts, places that require standing for long periods of time, walking, traveling…if I try hard, I relapse. : Fever, muscle pain, headache, dizziness, palpitations, food intolerance, indigestion, diarrhea, dizziness, syncope, blurred vision, etc…
What about your daily life?
I live every day like I have the flu. I feel like I’m 80 or 90 years old. I try to adapt to my abilities and live a normal life, but with many limitations. The thing is, it’s a fluctuating disease and you have to calibrate yourself every day, and making mid- to long-term plans is risky because you don’t know what’s going to happen to you.
How has your experience with the virus been?
I have had covid-19 three times. The first time was in March 2020, the first wave. I was one of the first infected in the area. My body was very weak after the infection, but I was confident that I would get better soon. At first, she couldn’t walk, could barely combine several words into a short sentence, and she couldn’t read or do anything on her own. Bathing and dressing were laborious tasks, forcing me to go back to bed… My head ached day and night, preventing me from thinking or sleeping. In this way, the days passed, the months passed, and the first year passed like this. That’s when I realized that these symptoms weren’t going to go away unless I took action. It was also the beginning of a pilgrimage of medical visits, diagnostic tests and different treatments, none of which worked. All of this comes with the grieving process of losing your health, which is not over yet because it is difficult to accept that you will never be the same again.
Do you think these consequences will one day go away?
I was encouraged that I would improve, but I wasn’t very optimistic. There is still much to be discovered about this disease. There is some research going on, but I think it’s too early to know more about it, and even more so to find effective treatments. The best treatment I recommend is to live as healthily as possible in terms of healthy habits: diet, moderate and adaptive physical activity, good management of the little energy we have, controlled activity intensity and taking many breaks. One time, all day long.
How important are projects like this documentary about ongoing COVID-19 patients? in?
This is a socially conscious strategy. It is important to realize that this new disease affects more people than we think. First, health professionals must know more about it.