Seek medical help for COVID-19 symptoms, warns Windsorite survivor

A Windsor, Ont., man says he was convinced he was going to die in hospital of COVID-19.

Struggling to breathe, feeling trapped in bed, unable to even go to the washroom without support, 51-year-old Mohammad Kawsara said it's only thanks to the careat Windsor Regional Hospital's Ouellette Campus andfaith that he was able to overcome the effects of coronavirus.

"I was on the verge of dying of choking," the Syrian-Canadian said. "It was a brush with death, having one foot in the grave."

Like many others, Kawsara's journey with COVID-19 began before he exhibited even the most basic flu-like symptoms.

Instead, his experience with coronavirus began when his wife Maram Kayali first started to feel sick.

"I had some body aches, because I was just doing grocery shopping and stuff for the house," said Kayali. "I'm thinking, okay, you get some body aches, you have some symptoms of the flu, and thenI started having heart palpitations."

Kayali said she soon lost her sense of smell and her sense of taste, eventually acquiring a fever.

"I had fever for about four, five days, but then the fever broke down with Tylenol and it started gradually going down," she said. "But by then, he already got it and he started up."

... He stopped talking, because every time he would talk, he would start coughing.- Maram Kayali

Over the next eight days, Kayali attempted to bring her husband's fever under control using cold pads on his head, as well as alternating between Tylenol and ibuprofen.

"It just wasn'tcoming down, it's not the flu," she said. "Something is off, and he stopped talking, because every time he would talk, he would start coughing."

Kayali said her husbandwould motion using his hands, adding that his hands and feet were "freezing and yellow."

"I couldn't do anything," she said. "I just got to the point where I couldn't I just didn't know what to do anymore."

Around March 27, the couple called an ambulance and Kawsara was taken to hospital, despite his fears of being alone without his family nearby.

WATCH | Mohammad Kawsara describes his experience with COVID-19:

Windsorite who survived COVID-19 warns others to seek medical help if they feel symptoms

4 years ago

Duration 3:39

Struggling to breathe, feeling trapped in bed, unable to even go to the washroom without support, 51-year-old Windsorite Mohammad Kawsara said it's only thanks to the care provided by staff at Windsor Regional Hospital's Ouellette Campus and just a little bit of faith that he was able to overcome the effects of coronavirus.

"They kept me for six, seven hours," he said. "They did an X-ray on my chest, they did blood work and swabbed my nose."

Staff at the time told Kawsara that he had viral pneumonia and gave him the option of staying in hospital or going back home.

"I preferred to go back home," he said. "Staying at the hospital is not fun."

Kayali said she was happy that Kawsara had been diagnosedbut was concerned that his breathing wasn't improving.

A few days later the couple received a fateful call from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit: Kawsara had contracted COVID-19.

"It was devastating," he said.

Speaking to the health unit representative,Kayali shared her previous symptoms, asking if there was a chance she had contracted COVID-19 earlier.

"She's like, 'Yeah, most likely you had it too,'" Kayali said, adding that she quickly realized that her whole family an 18-year-old son, a 15-year-old daughter, and two other boys aged five and two had likely been exposed as well.

Receiving a suggestion to go to hospital, the couple discussed their options, with Kawsara once again expressing his fears.

"But by next morninghe was standing over my bed, he was motioning to me with his finger that I need to call the hospital," Kayali said.

I was treated with dignity.- Mohammad Kawsara

When the ambulance arrived, Kayali said, two paramedics started Kawsara on oxygen right away.

"The third one was taking information from meand he was very kind, very gentle," Kayali said. "He tried his best to calm me down, because obviously I'm very distraught at this point, and I'm very anxious what's going to happen."

Once in hospital, Kawsara said he was overwhelmed by the medical staff who went out of their way to make him feel comfortable.

"I was treated with dignity," he said. "I wasn't able to take care of myself,even in the bathroom."

And after eight days Kawsararecovered, fighting off the worst symptoms the coronavirus threw at him.

"It wasn't fun," he said. "It's not fun."

Now, Kawsara says he has a message for others: Seek medical help if you feel sick.

"If you feel the symptoms, don't hesitate, it's not a stigma, it's not something to feel bad about," he said.

"To stay at home and to try to treat it from your medicine box or your spice cabinet chamomile tea and ginger and stuff like that I don't think it works."

Kawsara added that if he had known he had contracted COVID-19 sooner, he would have acted even earlier.

"I learned from this experience to humble myself and to respect others, respect everybody," he said. "Because nobody has a shield on their head. Everybody can contract the virus."

The children also recovered fromflu-like symptoms.

"I put them in my lap on Wednesday," Kawsara said. "It was sunny outside. We sat by the door, outside in the sun."

Through it all, Kayali said she's also grateful for the warmth she received from the health-care workers who consoled her.

"I had to be strong for the family, but honestly, I can't imagine how my life our life would be without him," she said. "He's my lifelong friend."

Kayalisaid she's never felt more proud to be here. "I'm very grateful to be Canadian."

The couple said they want to thank their friends within the Syrian community who provided support throughout the ordeal.

"I'm very grateful to god, I'm very grateful to everyone that supported us," Kayali said. "The amount of phone calls that we got was beautiful."