Covid survivor recounts his brush with death
45-YEAR-OLD FILIPINO COVID-19 SURVIVOR RECOUNTS HIS BRUSH WITH DEATH
Michael Malayan, 45, is so grateful to be alive that he doesn’t mind the excruciating rehabilitation exercises every day. The Covid-19 survivor owes his life to the medical team of King’s College Hospital, Dubai Hills.
Malayan, an engineer with a construction company, was in the hospital’s ICU for nearly a month in April with respiratory failure. He was put on mechanical ventilator for 10 days and was on oxygen support throughout his 20-day stay in the coronavirus ward.
How it all started
Malayan still has no clue about how he got infected. “It was the third week of March ... I used to follow all Covid-19 protocols, but I got up one morning feeling dizzy and nauseous and then had a dry cough,” he said.
Malayan’s wife and two sons live in the Philippines. He has a brother and sisters in Dubai.
After a couple of days, he went for a nasal swab test at a local clinic. “The test was negative, but I had fever and breathlessness,” Malayan said. “I went for a second swab test at another hospital by end-March and was found to be positive. I went to Rashid Hospital, by which time I could not breathe
and collapsed. I don’t remember much, but I know I was transferred to KCH in the first week of April.”
Respiratory arrest
Dr Julio Gomes-Seco, consultant pulmonologist at KCH, said: “On April 5, Michael was brought from Rashid Hospital where he had suffered a respiratory arrest. When he came to us, he had all the signs of going through a cytokine storm. His oxygen saturation was very low, so we instantly sedated him, had to intubate him, put him on a mechanical ventilator and place him in the ICU. His condition was very serious.”
Malayan was fed through a tube during the 10 days that he was on the ventilator in a coma.
On April 16, the ventilator was removed and he was moved to the Cocid ward, but he still required oxygen for a a week.
“Michael really fought back,” Dr Gomes-Seco said. “His muscles were wasted after being immobile for so long, but he worked hard on his rehabilitation and was able to stand and walk. On April 26, he was discharged after two negative tests.”
Life after Covid-19
Malayan, who loved running, decided to work on building his strength slowly once he got back home on April 26. “For the first 14 days, I was in quarantine at a hotel and just slept, ate and spoke to my family in the Philippines and my siblings here over video chats. Connecting with family was like therapy as it gave me great hope,” he said.
By June 1, Malayan able to resume running outdoors.
Dr Gomes-Seco said that when Malayan was at the peak of his illness, his lungs were badly damaged. “However, in subsequent follow-ups, Michael has shown amazing recovery. His lungs have healed 90 per cent and are getting better,” he said.