What helped save him was the first dose, Joinvilense says after her husband contracted Covid-19.

Marcos Cesar Dink, 41, of Joinville, went to Sao Paulo in early September as a driver for the company he works for, which has branches in the state of Sao Paulo. A trip that didn’t last for several days ended up being over a month. This is because Marcos spent 35 days in hospital with Covid-19 at Hospital das Clínicas.

She was hospitalized on 2 September. During this period, Marcus’ health condition worsened, he was intubated and sedated, and improved after a few days. His wife, Eliane Acing Rosa de Limas, 43, says his recovery was due to the vaccine.

The vaccine was taken in early June, and the second dose was scheduled for September 6. While Marcus felt symptoms on the second day, same date of admission.

When he felt unwell, the driver was urgently referred to medical attention. The next day, Marcus received the diagnosis: He had Covid-19. In addition, pneumonia was suspected and 25% of the lung was already compromised. Comorbidities were also a concern, as he was obese.

Two days after he was hospitalized, Marcus was already transferred to an ICU bed, unable to breathe on his own. Health worsened the next day, and not even an oxygen mask was enough, Marcus recalls. “Unfortunately, I could no longer breathe with the oxygen in the mask, and my saturation was 45. This is where the doctors told me to ‘intubate or die’,” he says.

Despite intubation, Marcus showed no improvement in the early days. It took two weeks for Joinvillens, who is still hospitalized in Sao Paulo, to show improvement. Intubation was 19 days.

Eliane was hospitalized in another state, and she received the medical report from her husband only once a day. In the second week of his stay in the hospital, he traveled to accompany Marcus. “I wasn’t able to visit him, but I knew he needed someone close to him. From that day on, he showed little improvement,” Eliane recalls.

With his health improving, Marcus was withdrawn from anesthesia on September 25. On October 7, he returned to Joinville, was taken by an ambulance and already discharged from the hospital. “Doctors used to say at first that the process for his admission to hospital would be long, 30 to 60 days. That is if he could survive,” his wife says.

Marcos returned to Joinville in an ambulance | Photo: personal archive

After 35 days of hospitalization, Marcus returned home weighing 30kg less, and unable to walk or eat on his own. In less than a week, movement improved with the help of physical therapy. Elaine says her husband is already back to doing things he never did before.

For the partner, the husband was able to recover because he had the resources available, such as a vaccine, health treatment, and a specialized medical team.

“Today she is still undergoing rehab, as it is a long process, and it takes a lot of effort, strength and a positive mind to be able to overcome all the effects after hospitalization,” says Elian.

Eliane sees Marcus’ experience as hope in the midst of a pandemic. “To give strength to others who are going through this as well. He concludes that COVID-19 is a treacherous disease.”