Mahabuba
Mahabuba is 36 years old and is Bangladeshi. She is married and has three children.
Mahabuba has a long-term health condition so was afraid of having Covid. Her relationships with friends and family brought her comfort while she had Covid. Mahabuba was interviewed in March 2021.
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Mahabuba started using a mask during the pandemic because she has a long-term health condition. She was advised by her husband to not go outside as much as she did before the pandemic. She says that she was not “totally not locked, but you can say ninety five percent locked.” She explains that she only went outside to take her bins out. Mahabuba enjoyed having her children at home to keep her company while she was isolating, because it gave her some family time.
Mahabuba sometimes experiences a higher temperature and breathing problems because of her long-term condition. However, one day she felt particularly unwell and then a few days later her husband started to feel unwell. Then her daughter said that she had a headache and felt unwell. So, Mahabuba and her family booked to have Covid tests which came back positive. Before her test Mahabuba says that she felt a bit afraid of having Covid. She also says that it was not nice having to visit the Covid testing centre because there was a lot of people around coughing.
When Mahabuba recieved her positive Covid test result she phoned her mum, dad, and sister. Mahabuba’s mum cried at the news and said things like “what are you going to do? You should call the doctor. Stay at home for ten days. You can’t go outside. You can’t do anything”. Mahabuba’s main concern was not being able to get enough food for the days she had to quarantine. She was also concerned that she had no lemon, ginger, or orange juice in her house which Mahabuba felt would help her family feel better.
Mahabuba continues to be in more pain than before getting Long Covid and has less interest in her life.
Mahabuba continues to be in more pain than before getting Long Covid and has less interest in her life.
If you compare yourself to before the pandemic, do you feel kind of, because for you being recovered is just still maybe going back to the same place where you started which still wasn’t great for you so.
Yeah. For me, I feel I’m in the same place that, like before corona where I am. More than that I’m down now because no smell, not no smell means I can hardly smell but not like, similar, you know the strong smell, I can’t [inaudible] or anything that and is affecting me a lot as well, my like when I talk a lot, it is affecting my talking everything and that’s like then feel tiredness. Still got the thing. It’s got similar but I feel like it’s gone bit more than yeah, anything interest not that much. I will do it. I will not said not do it but if not done, not feel that after okay, it’s gone it’s gone. So in my way I try to finish thing as early as possible, not wait for long so I feel that thing, so I feel it more tired, more everything, you know, more pain in the body. Still got the pain, you know, breathing and this pain.
You’re in even more pain. It sounds like you had a lot of pain before.
Yeah. It’s ongoing like more pain going on, more thing, more tiredness and like still not feel like you know, like what I can do enjoy before. Sometimes if I can’t, don’t do it, I don’t want to, sometimes, you know, want to take a jacket or sweater, I don’t want to take it as well, sit down but when I have to do something else I have to do it that time so like this.
Mahabuba and her husband were able to call on their friends for help.
Mahabuba and her husband were able to call on their friends for help.
Some friends is really good that time. They come, they drop the food, they help and that. Not that way I need something and my husband call his friend, “Okay, can you buy some citrus? Can milk.” Like you know, milk, bread, egg, basic thing. That’s thing I got it but not just for like, you know, whole week or ten days, like two days or three days thing. He call, my husband, his friend. In between ten days, four, five friends just. I cook but, you know, this coronavirus take a lot of thing from you and is make you learn lot of thing, you know, you learn lot of thing like you know the people, how is the people, how is the thing for people, they just came. You know, there is the, they just…I will say, my friend, my friend got coronavirus as well. I cook food and give it to them. You know, like helping what I can do and this but, you know, we know a lot of people like that, you know, we’re not saying bad ways. Different people is different but there’s people who call you every week, they message, “Are you okay? Are you feeling better? Are you got any else?”.
Mahabuba was taken to A&E after feeling like her body had shut down. She was given oxygen and was surprised to be discharged eight hours later, even though she could hardly stand up.
Mahabuba was taken to A&E after feeling like her body had shut down. She was given oxygen and was surprised to be discharged eight hours later, even though she could hardly stand up.
So another thing like four o’clock or five o’clock, four, half four, something like this, so nearly eight hours after they give me the oxygen. They check my heart beat and they say, “Okay.” That time my breathing come bit, okay, better than you know, like thirty forty percent but lot better than, you know, means like it’s come to a thing. I can’t explain now by talking but if you see me, means I can’t breathe that time even. I can stand up but I can’t breathe that time so then that time they say, “Okay.” I “As you say you’ve got a pain in your tummy or back, that means the side, right side of the back, we can’t do anything as we are busy. You have to talk to your GP and for further medication. We are not giving you any medication. Then your GP can see. We’re going to send the thing to your GP and you can go. You can go.” Straight away. Not five minutes, “You can go.”
How you go and I am okay in their way but for my way, I can’t even stand up. You know, like after this thing happening last ten hours or twelve hours with me, my body shut down. I can’t breathe and, as I got a problem before, so I feeling that way, and they didn’t, when I got there, they take me good way, you know, because I got a problem and when they leave me, they didn’t ask me, how you go home at that time night, nearly five o’clock that time is seven o’clock, I think. “Okay, you can go home. [inaudible] the thing. We’re going to send the further thing in there.”
I can’t talk. I can’t do nothing [laughs]. So slow by slow I touch the thing and just come outside and this. Oh and they say, “Okay.” The test for coronavirus as well that time. A Covid thing when I go in the hospital, so they test the Covid and they say, I ask them, when and they say, “Okay, you can go home.” I just ask them, “Okay, how, when I am going to get my result?” They say me, they say, “Okay, you can get the result when you go home, next two three days, we don’t know but, if you are positive, you can go anyway.” I say, “I could be positive.” “We don’t know, your symptoms say so we don’t know. You can go home now.”
Mahabuba was in favour of full check-ups for people who have ongoing symptoms after Covid and she thought this could be cheaper for the NHS than lots of individual visits.
Mahabuba was in favour of full check-ups for people who have ongoing symptoms after Covid and she thought this could be cheaper for the NHS than lots of individual visits.
So is everything me or not or it’s left me something coronavirus because, when you see in the news some people before moved their hand now can’t move their hand that much. And that’s my daily life as well. I feel the pain, I can’t move my hand that much so I don’t know. So in that way I feel, whoever got coronavirus or that, proper check-up should be done in further because you never know what is left to you inside and, when you go GP and doesn’t do the full check-up as well. Full check-up is less expensive than single check-up, you know, like what they doesn’t do it [laughs].