Elvis

Age at interview: 37

Brief Outline:

Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Black African
Background: Elvis is 37 years old and is Black African. He works as a wellbeing support navigator. Elvis’s dad was taken to the intensive care unit with Covid. He stayed in the unit for three weeks before passing away. Elvis caught Covid as well but had no symptoms.

 

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Elvis lived with his father, who caught Covid from visiting a restaurant. He says that his dad was tired, could not do normal every day activites, and wanted to sleep all the time. Elvis said to his dad that these symptoms were similar to the symptoms of Covid, but his dad felt sure that his symptoms would clear in a couple of days and that he could take some cold and flu tablets and feel okay again. However, his dad started to feel worse. Elvis explains, “he could sweat you know and then he started to feel the cold in his body and short of breath.” Elvis was quite worried about his dad so he phoned the GP, who told him if his symptoms got worse to call 999 (the emergency services). The GP also told him to order a Covid test. 
 
The Covid test was positive, and again they were told to self-isolate and if the symptoms got worse to go to hospital. Elvis says he was afraid during this time because his dad’s symptoms were getting worse, so he made the decision to call the emergency services. They asked him a series of questions and said that his dad was not bad enough to be taken to hospital. Elvis himself had no symptoms even though he also tested positive. 
 
A day or so later, Elvis called the emergency services again. This time an ambulance came to Elvis’s dad and they gave him oxygen and took him to the intensive care unit. The nurses explained that this was because his dad had underlying conditions that could make his recovery worse. The first week Elvis’s dad was in the hospital was fine. Elvis says that his dad was seeming to recover as he could eat and was able to talk on the phone. The second week, Elvis’s dad started to detoriate and was put on dialysis because his kidneys were starting to fail. The third week, Elvis’s dad passed away. 
 

 

Elvis first heard about coronavirus on the BBC news and then searched online.

How I started to hear about coronavirus, because I used to work, I watch the news so much, I was watching BBC. How I had, I watch it from the BBC talking about the new virus coming in from China, you know. In the in that village called Wuhan I think, you know. And then they were talking about it you know, how, but, at that time, I was not quite sure how, you know, when you get it what happens to you, how does it affect people, you know, how people can get it. But we were, I were concerned for my friends. How, oh my god, this virus is killing so many people and this and that and this and that, you know. What is it happening? Why? Who brought it, you know? And I will get more information, you know that Chinese people ate frogs, and they ate different things, you know. And then it, they ate animals that they shouldn’t be eating and from these animals they, they caught the virus and then it got transmitted to other people, and how we started to be transmitted from, one people to another, from one area to another, and then from one country to another. Oh it was a mess, how I heard what is coronavirus.

Elvis was not worried about catching Covid from his father because he was more concerned about looking after him.

Your dad is like you have your own child. It’s your blood, you know. You do things for him even though you know you’re going to get it you know. I was not worried that I’m going to get sick or what. What I wanted was my dad to get better, you know. So I would wash him, I would do, you know. I would shave him, I would give him food, you know. And he would breathe on me even though I’m wearing a mask or not, you know. He would do all of those things. And then and then and because I knew he had Covid, I knew already that I’m not going to go anywhere outside, you know.

Elvis expresses frustration with government measures regarding Covid.

He’s been very careful throughout, you know, and then they, they, they, you know, I think they had, easing the measures, you know, that’s when he went, and then he came and got it from there, you know, and that’s what it is. And even now they have really, they have decreased, they are easing these measures, and I’m like, you know, I can’t even though they have easing these measures, I still have to wear my mask, you know. I still have to do social distancing so that I don’t get it, you know. That is something that it’s clear as day, you know. So I’m afraid like when I go to town today, I see people in their pubs, in their things, you know sitting, and I’m like is it corona finished, is it gone? I haven’t heard anything about it, you know. For that reason I have to keep wearing a mask, which I do, you know.

Elvis had no symptoms but was encouraged by family to test when his father caught Covid.

I went to the, I booked myself and then I went, you know, and there they take the, the samples and they find out that I, I also have Covid-19, you know. But my Covid-19 was dormant, you know. I couldn’t , I couldn’t, basically, you know, I, I have, I could do anything and I could-, I didn’t feel that I had Covid in any way whatsoever. I was a normal person apart from that they told me to isolate I think for 14 days, so I was in the house for 14 days. People would bring me food, left at the door and things, and I would stay in the house, you know.

Elvis made his dad a drink of ginger, lemon, and red onion to help with his immune system.

There is ginger in it, there is lemon, there is there is onions, red onions, red onions, you know. And then you boil it with water. And then the water that comes from this after it’s been boiled, you drink it, you know. And then when you drink it says it wash the lungs, you know, it washed everything. And then you can try, you can better yourself, basically. It betters your immune systems, you know. So, you know, that what it does, you know? And people have been using that, and when they say drink a lot of liquid when you have Covid, you know, they say that those are the things that you supposed to drink, rather than drinking only water hot water or water or water. It’s better to drink things which have onions and lemon and ginger in it.

Elvis felt 100% fine when he had Covid. He was bored isolating alone at home, wishing he could do his normal activities.

I felt like oh my God they are stopping me doing my own activities, you know. Because even the people I was speaking to them over the phone I said look, you know, me I got this virus, but I’m 100% fine. I do norm- I can do normal activities. I can shower myself, clean the house, you know, sleep, get to sleep, you know. I can do sport, I can go out for activities, but I can’t do that, you know. So I stay with mys-, I stay in the house by myself. And they were trying to say to me, Elvis, so what can you do to basically, to make yourself better in the house? And I’m like “What do you want me to do?”, you know. I can read a book, you know. I’ve read my university books twice you know. I’ve read, I’ve read everything. What else do you want me to do? I live in a flat with my dad. My dad is not here. The house is not big to do sport and everything, so what I have to do is just play and listen to the music and you know the time goes by, that’s what I can do, you know. And try to eat which I became fat, but you know. You know so that’s what I did, that’s what I did and then, I stayed at home until those days but the- basically when you don’t have, when you know you have Covid but you don’t have the symptoms, you don’t feel anything worse. You don’t feel a symptom, you know. It’s like you are a normal person. People are telling you that you are sick but you don’t feel any sickness in you.

Elvis was frustrated that his father’s Covid symptoms had to get worse before paramedics would visit.

But things deteriorated, and before that we had contacted the ambulance to tell them, “Look our father is not breathing properly, he is short of breath, he is cold, he has signs of Covid. What can we do, can you come and collect him?” So they were asking him questions, you know, and they said to him, basically, “You are, the symptoms that you have, we can’t take you today, to the hospital, there is no need. You need to, to stay at home until your, symptoms become worse. And if you are worse, the situation is worse, then you can tell us to come and pick you up.” And I was like, does someone have to be that, in that situation to be agrav- the situation to be aggravated, and then we have to come, or you can come early and try to have early intervention to stop it, but they refused, you know.

So on Friday evening, we saw that the situation was not going forward, you know. We had prepared a supper for my father but then again he was not, he was not drinking. That’s when we called the ambulance again, the second time the next, on Friday, and then we expressed our fear. We told them that basically he, the situation is worse, he can’t breathe properly, you know, he is short of breath, he’s hot, he’s coughing. He coughing and then and then there is no things coming out from the cough, it’s a dry cough, and we need some support, some help. And that’s when the ambulance came, you know.

Elvis tried to ease his mother’s doubts about vaccines but understood her reservations.

My mum prays, you know. Is Christian, you know. And then what she say to me, you know, that this vaccine is, that according to my mum, is not good, you know. It will, they are trying to basically to make one new world order, you know. She say people have to follow this you know. They bring their illness, you know. Now they’re going to have one army, have one government, have one thing. People have, they will have to do. If you don’t get, they will come and stand one day say if you don’t have a vaccine, you won’t get a passport to go to this place you won’t do this you won’t do that. So, she’s against it, you know, she’s against it. And then she said “this vaccine can do bad things to your body, you know. It can, you know, it can make you not have babies”, you know. “It cannot have you, have you many things”. So, it’s not even good for your body, you know. And then I said to her: “But me, I work in the NHS, and they they’ve told me nothing wrong with it, I can have it and not have any problems.”