it’s been an awful week. my grandma has covid.

she’s one of my favorite people in the world. she’s being treated at the hospital now

this is an experience thread for anyone who refuses to wear a mask/doesn’t take this virus seriously:
1

she tested positive on september 18. a few symptoms, but nothing too intense. the whole household had to get swabbed too afterwards (antigen test: 2k per person)

she was okay for the first few days, but needed to be hooked up to an oxygen tank 24/7 (about 5k total cost)
2

and then her condition started to deteriorate yesterday morning. we immediately called the ambulance to transport her (about 14k total for the service + PPEs & disinfection)

they held her in the ER COVID chamber from 3 PM to 3 AM, waiting for a room to be available
3

protocol is to fully test the patient even after they initially test positive & until all results come in, patients cannot be admitted into a room (if you can secure one)

family members can’t stay with covid patients unless they consent to be treated as covid patients as well
4

so my 70 year old grandma finally gets to her room (daily rate: 10k) after 12 hours of waiting

she’s considered a mild case. they’re putting her on remdesivir for five days (one vial is to one day at 90k per day)

so we’re looking at a treatment plan that costs upwards of 500k
5

was my grandma lax with her anti-covid precautions? yes absolutely. i almost chained her to her bedroom door and constantly berated her for being a lakwatsera

but she stopped going out in august. she was most likely exposed two weeks ago at a small family dinner (<10 present)
6

this is our firsthand experience, with an estimated cost breakdown of the first week of battling covid. a lot of these costs are covered by insurance, but there are so many out there who don’t have that privilege
7

this is a COMMUNITY fight. you don’t just wear a mask, distance, & wash your hands for yourself, you do it so that you don’t infect others

remdesivir is the only approved treatment for this at the moment and it costs 90000 pesos a vial. how are people supposed to pay for that?
8

the worst part of this is the feeling of helplessness—i can’t physically be there with my grandma. i’d rather be there holding her hand than sending her memes on viber

so please please please everyone take care of each other. protect each other. sending all my love your way
9