Life has been a struggle for Thomas* recently.
In March the 41-year-old fencing contractor caught COVID-19, thanks to contact with someone from one of New Zealand’s main clusters. He first noticed symptoms about March 19, but put them down to an existing ear infection. Within two days he was bedridden. “I lost my sense of taste, my sense of smell.”
Trips to the toilet, Thomas says, tired him out so much he could do nothing but sleep afterwards. There were headaches too, making him feel as though someone was stabbing him in the head, and a weird smell that reminded him of a hospital. He lost 14kg in 14 days and antibiotics made no difference. “I needed to lose a bit of weight but that wasn’t a healthy way to do it.”
By the time he was eventually tested on March 28 and diagnosed, he was on the road to recovery, but it was a scary time. To the people who have suggested COVID-19 is simply a bad case of flu, Thomas has this to say: it’s not. “This thing hit me pretty hard.”
Luckily, he says, no one in his household – including his young grandson - became infected.
The effects haven’t been just physical: COVID-19 has also affected Thomas’s attitude to his work. “I know I’m better but I’m hesitant to go back. I have a couple of elderly clients and I’m anxious about it. There may be symptoms, I don’t know.”
Thomas was born with hepatitis B and diagnosed in 2010. Could this have aggravated the symptoms? “Possibly,” he admits. “Everyone I’ve spoken to (who’s had COVID-19) sailed through it more easily than I did. I’ve noticed in the past few years I get sick more easily than everyone else and I put that down to hepatitis.”
Thomas’s liver condition was picked up during a regular check-up. It was, understandably, a shock. “I didn’t know much about it,” he says.
He’s since learned to manage it by having regular blood tests and eating properly. “I don’t really drink, don’t smoke. I only eat meat every few days.”
He also makes a lot of vegetable juices to boost his immune system. “I’ve always liked veges.” He stays fit, exercising at home on a treadmill, and his physical work helps. It’s a far cry from his pre-hepatitis days. “I was pretty bad back then, eating pies before work,” he chuckles down the phone.
“I was overindulging.”
Two of Thomas’s three brothers also have hepatitis B and it’s them, he says, who keep him motivated to stay healthy. “One of them is a talented musician but he can’t do any of that work now. He can’t sign his name, can’t eat with a knife and fork. He feels like an animal, and he’s a solo dad with six kids, so he drinks to cope.”
“He’s the reason I look after myself. I take extra precautions.”
It’s not an easy life. Thomas is open about that. But he tries to look on the bright side. “You’ve got to carry on. As long as you’re looking after yourself that’s all you can do. There’s not much else you can do except stay positive.”
* Name has been changed for confidentiality reasons.
