Pinoy COVID-19 survivor in Dubai gets back into running for full recovery

Published August 25, 2020 3:29pm By JOJO DASS DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — These days, it is common to see Michael Malayan, an engineer from Iloilo City, running up to eight kilometers around his neighborhood in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, a large cosmopolitan area in the southern part of Dubai. “Simula ulit. Pero hangang ngayon, hirap ibalik ang dating pacing,” said Malayan, who had joined marathon competitions in the past. Malayan regularly posts selfies of his morning runs on his Facebook to the delight of friends and loved ones. They have reasons to be happy because back in April, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city, Malayan was gasping for breath not because he was sprinting but rather the coronavirus had gotten him. “Nag-agaw buhay ako. Bago ako na-admit, confident pa ako na kaya ko, hanggang nawalan na ako ng malay,” recalled Malayan, whose wife and two sons are in Iloilo. He is staying in Dubai with his brother and sister. Malayan, who arrived in Dubai back in February of 2018 and works at a construction consultancy firm, shared that it all started with a dry cough and slight fever around the second to third week of March. “Akala ko ordinaryong lagnat lang. Kinakaya ko pa. Hanggang nahihilo na ako,” he said. Doctors are always on the lookout for dizziness among patients because it means the oxygen level is going down, which is a sign of COVID-19 infection. Night of COVID Malayan said he experienced difficulty in breathing in early April. Assisted by friends, he went to a hospital, which referred him to another hospital apparently designated for COVID-19 patients. On April 5, Malayan was transferred to a specialty hospital without him being aware of it. According to reports, he was rushed to the hospital on an ambulance as he had very low oxygen level, which necessitated that he be immediately sedated, intubated, put on a mechanical ventilator and placed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). A doctor at the hospital, according to a Gulf News report, said Malayan “remained on the mechanical ventilator for 10 days and in coma all through.” He was fed “through a tube going into his stomach.” “Doon na ako natakot nang magising ako, dahil nalaman ko na tumagal pala ako sa ICU, sedated at intubated,” said Malayan. “Kahit hanggang ngayon kaunting ubo lang at medyo masamang pakiramdam natatakot na agad ako. Salamat sa Diyos at walang positive sa mga pamilya ko.” Malayan was finally taken off the mechanical ventilation on April 16 and, following two negative COVID-19 tests, was discharged on April 26, which was followed by a 14-day quarantine at a hotel. Picking up the pieces But the life-and-death struggle did not end there. Being comatose for 10 days and bed-ridden at the COVID-19 ward with oxygen supplied through a cannula, a thin tube, for another week, Malayan’s muscles have weakened. He was in a hospital bed for 22 days -- from April 5 to 26. “Matagal pa akong naka-recover mula sa ‘pagkatulog,’” said Malayan, who now is working from home. “Mabuti mababait at maasikaso mga staff ng ospital. Bago ako lumabas, naglalakad na ako sa kwarto ko, at advice din ng mga doctor at mga staff.” Soon as he could muster the strength, Malayan was back into running in June, looking back at the distance he has made and the harrowing experience he has had. “Minsan nakakaramdam pa rin ng black-out at panghihina ng katawan, pero ang puso ay dapat i-maintain,” he said. His advice: “Follow protocols,” among them social distancing and the proper wearing of face masks. “Ingat pa rin sa mga mataong lugar. At kung na-admit na [sa ospital], huwag panghinaan ng loob. Regular na communication sa pamilya, kaibigan at katrabaho, na alam mong nagdadasal sila para sa iyo. Sumunod sa mga sinasabi ng Hospital staff. At magdasal, iyan ang pinaka-epiktibong gamot,” he said. --KBK, GMA News