25-year-old hit with Covid-19, goes into clinical death.

Ahmad Bassam, 25-year-old Palestinian living in Ajman, the eldest of 5 sisters and 1 brother, has been infected with Covid-19 on the first day of Ramadan, 23 of April.

How he was infected is a mystery, as he was very disciplined and rarely left the house, as to protect his younger siblings and his widowed mother.

Talking to UAE editorial Ahmad said that out of no where, on the 23 of April, being the first day of Ramadan, his temperatures spiked by a great deal, his family called an ambulance from Khalifa Hospital in Ajman, when the paramedics arrived at midnight, they checked him and conducted a Covid-19 test, after which they told him to stay in his room alone.

Ahmad added that the following day his family received a phone call from the Hospital, informing them that Ahmad had tested positive for Covid-19 and stressed that he must be isolated in his room, as well as ask everyone who came in contact with him to visit the hospital in order to be checked for Covid-19.

Two days had passed and Ahmad's temperature had exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, he started showing symptoms such as coughing, running nose, sever headaches and diarrhea, he told UAE Editorial that half the time he was borderline unconscious.

His mother ending up calling an ambulance yet again from Khalifa Hospital in Ajman, this time around, he was transported to the hospital but no beds were available, the hospital called other hospitals to see if there were any beds available, only Al Qasimi Hospital in Sharjah, and Sheikh Khalifa General Hospital in Umm Al Quwain had room for Ahmad, he ended up being transported to the latter.

This was all happening while Ahmad was unconscious, though things were to get worse, after he arrived at the Sheikh Khalifa General Hospital he fell into a coma.

After he arrived, he was put in the Intensive care unit (ICU) , he was in a coma for 24 days straight, and 5 of those days, he was pronounced clinically dead, however the hospital and its staff did not give up on him, and after those 5 dreadful days had passed, Ahmad had shown signs of life, and gradually recovered from the coma.

Image credit: courtesy of the family

However the consequences were sever, as soon as he gained conscious, he knew nothing and remembered nothing or no-one, he only knew his name, this kept up for 4 days until his memory started returning but not entirely, in addition to his memory loss, his nerves were not functioning properly, as a result he was completely paralyzed.

In addition, Ahmad's kidney, liver and lungs failed to function, the hospital perfumed Dialysis twice, which is a process that filters waste from the blood, until the kidney functions improve.

After his time in the intensive care unit, he was moved to a ward for recovering patients for two days, after which he was taken to a private room and kept there for 21 days, his paralysis was improving gradually, and he was able to walk in the hospital's corridor as a means to help him in his recovery.

He was sent home after the 21 days, however his left leg had not recovered, the nerves have been damaged, he came back home weighing 27kg less than when he left, and he started having heavy hair loss.

At home, Ahmad spent a lot of time resting as walking was still a challenge.

He told UAE Editorial that "I regret being a heavy smoker, as the impact of Covid-19 was much worse" it took ten days at home for Ahmad to be able to walk again.

One month after returning home, Ahmad saw little improvements, but still feels weak and tired, his memory is still not fully recovered, he has short-term and long-term memory loss.

He mentioned to UAE Editorial that "everyone i came in contact with, including my mother who would wipe the saliva dripping from my mouth when i was very ill, she did not get infected, nor did my sister whom also took care of me"

Ahmad also added that, "It was a very bad experience, I cannot explain the pain i had gone through, i have paid a very heavy price, and i hope no one has to go through what i went through."

Ahmad Bassam is now in a stable condition, he plans on undergoing treatment for his leg, he also hopes that his story reaches as many people as possible, and shows the consequences of the Covid-19, and how even someone who was being very careful, ended up infected.