A False Negative COVID Test

Hello, my name is Yaakov Heiman, happily married to Anat and the father of three lovely children. Now I can smile again having returned home following 3 months of hospitalization due to Covid. The last few months have been a nightmare that I do not wish on anyone. Thanks to the support of my family and the dedicated care I received here at Reuth Rehabilitation Hospital, I recovered from the virus and now trying to get back to my life.

For a whole month I was anesthetized, connected to an Acmo machine after my lungs had collapsed. I started feeling unwell in June. My fever went up but the Covid test I took came back negative so I did not worry. However, my fever continued going up and did not come down for several days. My son decided to take me to hospital. This time my test came back positive and I was hospitalized in the Corona Intensive Care Unit.

After three days my lungs collapsed. I felt difficulty breathing, heaviness in the body, confusion and loud noises around me. I gave my consent to the medical team to put me to sleep, feed me through the tube and connect me to a ventilator, the Acme machine.

Now I know that the medical staff prepared them for the worst. Thankfully, after about two weeks I opened my eyes. However, my body still did not respond. I had a frozen look, motionless body. Gradually my measures stabilized and improved until I woke up. I was very confused, did not understand where I was and did not recognize my family members.

I arrived at Reuth Rehabilitation Hospital in a wheelchair and with significant muscle laxity. I experienced trembling in my hands and could not hold even a glass of water. I received a warm and professional treatment from the medical staff here, and thanks to the physiotherapy and occupational therapy treatments I was able to function independently again without any aids at all. I’m finally back to life. My message to you is to not underestimate the guidelines. This pandemic is vicious. In the beginning its silent and has flu-like symptoms but it progresses rapidly in the body and there is no way to know how each one will react. Put on your masks, keep your social distance from each other and stay safe.