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Covid-19 patient credits UAE's healthcare system for recovery
Dubai - Baerentsen said the two weeks he was in a hospital's isolation ward was 'life changing'.
Henrik Peter Baerentsen, the UAE's 'patient number 48', has one message for everyone: "Take this threat seriously for the sake of your families and for the healthcare professionals who're putting their lives at stake for us."
Baerentsen said the two weeks he was in a hospital's isolation ward was 'life changing'. "The realisation hits you hard. Coronavirus is real and not something that happens to your neighbours," the Danish expat told Khaleej Times.
"It is like that weird moment when life yanks you out of normalcy. You realise how fragile the world is. There were times when I desperately wanted this to end, to be with my wife, to breathe fresh air again and to see a face without a mask. Everything that you take for granted otherwise became precious as life itself."
Speaking over the phone from his apartment, Baerensten, who is a senior executive with a consultancy firm, said he thinks he contracted the virus during his travel to Austria. "I flew to Austria early March and spent a week at a skiing resort. I had a bunch of friends with me, too, but none of them got it."
Baerensten said he drove to Munich and took a flight back to Dubai on March 8. "I had some mild flu symptoms like a runny nose and a slight chilly feeling, which is normal after you go for skiing. But I went to hospital and the test came as negative. Still to be more cautious, my wife and I self-isolated and did not go out."
His flu symptoms got worse the next day and instead of ignoring it, he went for a medical check-up again on March 11. "The test came positive the second time. If you ask me whether I panicked, the answer is no. I was surprised because it was kind of weird. But I was relaxed, too, maybe because I have an inherent trust in the UAE's healthcare system."
A Dubai resident of eight years, Baerensten said he was among the lucky ones to have a mild version of the coronavirus. "I did not have any acute respiratory problems. Yes, I had severe headache. I felt extremely tired. I could feel it in my lungs . like I had done too many push-ups."
Although the road to recovery was slow, Baerensten said the hardest part was to stay strong while away from his family. The hospital where he was being treated was in the same part of the town. "But it felt I was thousands of miles away from my wife. It was really, really hard on her that she was unable to see me. We could only talk on the phone. I was also very worried for my parents who are old and living in Denmark. But I knew I had to be strong for them."
And for those who are yet to take the coronavirus threat seriously, the expat pleaded with them to stay home "for the sake of our families, and for the medical staff who is putting their lives at risk for us". "We live in a country where everything can be done online, whether it is to order food and medicines or to work and attend meetings. There is absolutely no excuse to go out."
anjana@khaleejtimes.com
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