BY JOSE PAOLO S. DELA CRUZ
As of March 29, 2020, the Philippines has recorded a total of 1,418 COVID-19 cases, with 71 fatalities and 42 recoveries. This young man’s inspiring journey gives a face to such statistics.
On March 29, Rogelio Bueno Jr. took to Facebook to tell his story – not just as COVID-19 patient 358 – but as a survivor. His post has, as of this writing, gained 129,00 reactions and has been shared 42,000 times on the web.
Week One: The beginning
Thirty-five year-old Rogelio’s story began when his temperature rose to 37.8 degrees Celsius, in the condo he shares with Joanna, whom he married in 2017. “I just took paracetamol and slept it off. I woke up late that night, bought kimchi because I haven’t had dinner yet and I want something spicy because it seems that I lost my sense of taste,” he wrote.
The following day, Wednesday morning, his temperature had risen to 38.8 degrees C. He could no longer get out of bed and also had slight difficulty in breathing – which he tried to dismiss as the side effect of wearing a surgical mask. His wife had told him it might be COVID-19., to which he responded, “Malakas katawan ko at ang taba ko, ‘no. ‘Di ako tatablan nyan (I have a strong body and I am quite burly. That won’t have an effect on me.) I was in denial.”
Still, his discomfort grew. By lunchtime, he had finally decided to go to the nearby hospital to get himself checked.
The ER was packed. He had his blood tests and urinalysis done, and was later sent home with the diagnosis of Systemic Viral Illness. He called his mother, who was visiting the next day from the province, for advice. “She told me to start with Clarithromycin,” he wrote.
By Thursday, Rogelio’s symptoms got better. The fever was down to the 37.8 to 38.2 degrees Celsius range and he was able to drive from Pasig to Las Piñas. “When we got home, I went directly to our third floor for isolation because I didn’t want my family to catch my sickness. I didn’t even get to see them and got mad with our youngest because she went up to see me,” he wrote.
The easing of his symptoms, also proved to be short-lived. His breathing became more difficult, to the point that he could only talk in short sentences. With some Pip-Tazo, Cefriaxone and Paracetamol IV, however, things got better once more.
“The next day, I was very hungry and I thought I was getting better. But that night, difficulty of breathing returned and it worsened,” he said.
By then, his mother had decided to have him subjected to further testing at a hospital. His C-reactive protein (inflammatory marker) was more than 10 times the normal value.
At the Emergency Room
By Saturday morning his mom had brought him to the ER because his temperature wouldn’t go down. The breathing had also worsened, limiting Rogelio’s speech to one-word responses.
“At the ER, blood was again extracted to the point that I could not even feel the pain even after numerous needle insertions, even the ABG, because all that mattered to me was my breathing. It felt like I was drowning and was gasping for air even though I had oxygen via nasal cannula. My comorbid conditions made matters worse,” he wrote.
Asthmatic, diabetic and hypertensive, Rogelio’s blood sugar was twice the normal. His blood pressure went as high as 150/90.
Finally, the time came for the COVID-19 test to be administered. “It was very painful,” he recalled on his post. “They inserted one very long stick per nostril and one for the throat swab,” he wrote. That was the last time Rogelio also saw his mom prior to his treatment, who together with other family members, had to take a 14-day quarantine because they were all exposed to him.
At the ward, his IV meds were Pip-Tazo, Linezolid and Levofloxacin, all very strong antibiotics. “I was very scared, thoughts were running in my mind,” he wrote.
Rogelio thought his wife Joanna was too young to be a widow. He thought he was about to die without having enjoyed his life to the fullest. He wished they had had a baby.
“I was already giving up and was preparing myself for the worst. My wife was crying, but she kept saying, ‘Laban, kaya mo yan!’,” he said in his post.
“Gagaling ako, may purpose pa ako.”
The next two days were very hard for Rogelio. Aside from his breathing problems, his medicine intake had made him feel hot, literally. He could not sleep, could not breathe. He could not go to the restroom because all it took was three steps to wear him out. “I had to wake up Joanna to get the urinal or get me water at 2 a.m. because that was when I felt the hottest. Blood sugar was taken four times a day, wherein I was given insulin if the value is above 140 before meals and 110 at night,” he wrote.
During his fourth hospital day, his fever broke. After that, Rogelio was able to go to the CR but he would still be breathless. “My wife had to carry the IV stand, complete with infusion pump and numerous meds that it looked like a Christmas tree. Aside from the occasional difficulty of breathing and diarrhea (because of the meds), I was feeling better and positive. Negative thoughts were gone from my mind and I spent the day praying, thanking God, asking protection for Joanna, promising to be a better person,” he said.
Two chest X-rays also yielded the same result: Progressing pneumonia, minimal pleural effusion. On his sixth day at the hospital, he was finally identified as positive for COVID-19.
COVID-19 Positive
In response to the findings, IV meds were discontinued and medication shifted to oral chloroquine and azithromycin. By day seven in the hospital (and his 11th since first feeling the symptoms), Rogelio had two more chest X-rays – both of which showed progressing pneumonia.
The silver lining: he was starting to feel better. “I was still having difficulty breathing, but I could hold my breath for three to five seconds during my breathing exercises. My blood sugar was already controlled so insulin and CBG monitoring were stopped,” he said.
On his eighth day at the hospital his COVID test was repeated. It would take four days before he knew the results. While waiting, his breathing exercises got better. His X-rays still identified pneumonia and pleural effusion, but they were no longer progressing.
By Day 11 in the hospital, he was able to go to the restroom alone. He took his first bath in 10 days.
On the 12th day, his COVID-19 result came back. It was a negative. “I could now remove the nasal cannula for three to five hours without difficulty of breathing,” he said.
On his 15th day, he was finally discharged from the hospital.
A responsible homecoming
“Upon arriving home, we left our slippers outside, took another bath, changed clothes” he recalled. I did not even get to say hi to my family to limit exposure,” Rogelio wrote of the responsible measures he took.
He was still a little breathless going up the stairs and still had to complete 14 more days of quarantine with his wife. He also still had to finish two more days of chloroquine.
“All in all I’m just thankful to have survived COVID-19,” wrote Rogelio, who also expressed gratitude for Joanna, his rock. “She does not have to be there but she stayed by my side. She is the strongest woman I know.”
He also thanked his Mom and Dad, his family, the Department of Health representatives who checked up on him. Most importantly, he thanked his doctors (Dr. Abad Santos, Dr. Wassmer and Dr. Delos Reyes), and the army of nurses, med techs, rad techs and staff for giving the best patient care.
“I am just happy to be alive. I will take this opportunity to cherish my family and loved ones more, to be a better person and to live life to the fullest. I am patient 358 and I’m a COVID-19 survivor,” he concluded.
Editor’s Note: This story is based on Rogelio Bueno Jr’s Facebook post, published on March 29, 2020. To view his original post, click here.
