'Close to death': Australian Covid patients share harrowing reality of virus
Seriously ill Covid-19 patients have issued heartbreaking pleas for Sydney residents to get vaccinated as the escalating Delta outbreak strains hospital resources.
Speaking from their beds at Concord Hospital, the three patients shared their harrowing experiences as part of a new video by Sydney Local Health District to raise awareness about how dangerous and damaging the virus is.
It begins with lung specialist Lucy Morgan, who spoke about the challenges of working on the frontline in NSW's worsening Covid-19 situation.
“We’re all really tired,” she said.
Dr Morgan said it has been “extraordinary” to hear first-hand accounts about the virus from her patients and described some of their stories as “really heartbreaking”.
“One of the things that really struck me is how many of my patients are really young, they’re in their 20s, they’re in their 30s, they’re in their 40s. Many have very small children. Many have partners who are also in hospital,” she said.
She explained that many had received misinformation about Covid-19 prior to falling ill with the virus and several wanted to speak out to set the record straight.
“So if ever there was a reason for you to think about getting vaccinated today, please I would urge you to listen to Ramona, listen to Fawaz and listen to Osama because this is their story,” she finished.
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Fawaz
The first patient to speak is 50-year-old Fawaz, who lies face-down in bed suffering from fever, headaches and shortness of breath.
“Today I am really bad: my fever, my headache, my breathing,” he said.
The exhausted construction worker from Putney admits he doesn't know how he caught the virus.
“I booked in my vaccine for the 23rd of October and I was very careful with where I went and what I did.”
His entire family has also tested positive and his daughter is being treated in hospital.
"She's getting dizzy, her heart rate is too high and she is finding it hard to breathe," he said.
"I wish I knew beforehand... It's not a game, it's for real,” he finished.
Ramona
Next to appear is single mother Ramona, who cried as she spoke about not having seen her children in weeks.
The pharmacy worker described the harrowing physical and mental toll of the virus.
“I’ve had two kids and a major operation but I’ve never had to push myself to recover mentally this much,” she said.
She urged the community to look at vaccination as a privilege.
"I'm an essential worker. I could have contracted the virus from someone who didn't want to get the vaccination.”
Osama
The video ends with 35-year-old Osama, whose wife is in ICU at another hospital.
His children are also being cared for at Westmead Hospital.
“It’s terrible without my kids… it hasn’t been easy,” he said.
The distraught tradie said he had felt “close to death”, urging others to get vaccinated.
“It’s not worth the risk... You don’t want to go through it,” he said.
NSW cases hit 900s
The video comes after NSW notched up another grim record with 919 new infections and two deaths on Wednesday.
A man in his 80s with underlying conditions has died from Covid, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Wednesday.
A 30-year-old mum of three who died at her south west Sydney home just days after testing positive is also included in today's death toll.
Some 645 people are in hospital with the virus, including 113 in intensive care.
With AAP
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