Serbia's coronavirus patient zero speaks: "Even after 6 months I still have lung problems"

Photo: printscreen/TV Pink; pixabay.com

Igor Djantar (43), who had coronavirus infection confirmed on March 6, says that after half a year he still gets tired and has some difficulty breathing, and that coronavirus should be taken seriously.

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"Today, six months after I became infected with coronavirus and was one step away from a ventilator, I feel only great happiness and gratitude to the doctors and to God for keeping me alive. When it was the worst and when I couldn't either breathe in or get up, the doctors put a picture of my children on the wall of my hospital room and told me , 'Because of them, you have to endure and survive'," the daily Novosti writes.

This is the story of Igor Djantar (43), officially patient zero in Serbia exactly six months after this dangerous virus was confirmed in him on March 6. According to Igor, he feels much better today than before, although until recently he felt the consequences of almost a month he had spent in the hospital and the fight for his life in the Clinical Center of Vojvodina.

"There are still some problems with my lung. I get tired faster, I breathe harder, but it's getting better. Until two weeks ago, I still felt more severe consequences... Now the situation is a little better, but in two weeks I will have another check-up... My recovery journey has been terribly long. I never thought at the time that one small virus could cause so many problems in the body. That is why I once again appeal on everyone to be careful, wear masks and listen to the doctors' recommendations because some people have it without symptoms, others are like me, while some others fail to survive it," said Igor and added that while in the hospital bed he realized that everything in life, except health, is completely irrelevant:

"One day you have everything, and the next, nothing... When I was hospitalized, I couldn't get out of bed or go to the toilet, I couldn't eat for 10 days, I lost a lot of weight, and before that I was full strength, I was exercising... Today I am happy to be able to work again, to walk, to go to lunch with friends, to enjoy life."

While in the hospital, Djantar still thought mostly about his children and family and what might happen to them.

"The feeling is terrible, you are suffocating, you have no air... Those eery scenes from intensive care keep coming back to me and I will never be able to forget them. It’s definitely the worst seven days of my life. I was a step away from a ventilator, the saturation, that is, the level of oxygen in my blood dropped so much that the next day they were supposed to put me on mechanical ventilation... However, a doctor sat with me all night, encouraging me, cheering me on, she was telling me to breathe and to hang in there. I will never be able to forget the commitment of the medical staff, and they still call me and ask how I'm doing. I will never be able to repay them for everything they did for me," said Djantar, who once again appealed on all citizens to respect recommendations, beware of this "serious and evil virus" and to be responsible both toward themselves, and others.

(Telegraf.rs)