A Melbourne man didn't recognise himself when he awoke, unable to stroll and with a gap in his face, weeks after he was put right into a coma inside 90 minutes of going to hospital with COVID-19.
It began with a runny nostril within the depths of Melbourne's stage 4 lockdown in September final 12 months, however a case of COVID-19 virtually killed Theo Ikosidekas.
The 32-year-old lay unconscious in a hospital mattress, combating for all times for 2 weeks, and needed to spend months extra working to regain a semblance of his former life after that.
A 12 months on, Ikosidekas is lastly thought-about again to "regular", however he's haunted by post-traumatic stress dysfunction (PTSD) after his harrowing well being battle.
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From sweats to gasping for air: A sudden and speedy decline
The decline in Ikosidekas' well being was so fast that he was working simply 24 hours earlier than docs urgently put him in a medically-induced coma to avoid wasting his life.
The wonder entrepreneur from Northcote mentioned he had no pre-existing well being circumstances or elements generally identified to make folks extra weak to the virus.
"The one factor I can consider is I used to be extremely pressured as a result of we had been in a lockdown," Ikosidekas informed 9news.com.au.
He was booked in to get vaccinated towards the highly-contagious virus when he received "mildly sick" with a runny nostril.
4 days later, his cold-like signs had advanced into one thing much more critical.
"I began getting shortness of breath. I misplaced my urge for food and I had the sweats," he mentioned.
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He referred to as an ambulance the subsequent day and spent lower than 90 minutes within the emergency division at The Austin Hospital, in Melbourne's north-east, earlier than docs put him in a coma.
Ikosidekas, who had the Delta pressure, was on their own within the "extraordinarily traumatic" second as COVID-19 restrictions meant sufferers needed to be remoted, so his household couldn't are available.
He had no thought how lengthy he'd must go underneath or if he would ever see them once more.
"I did not know if I'd get up or once I'd get up," Ikosidekas mentioned.
"The physician was telling me that I used to be extraordinarily sick. It did not even really feel actual."
Regular oxygen ranges are 95 per cent or above. Ikosidekas' had been at 72 per cent.
Distressed and confused, he needed to shortly contact his household and buddies to inform them he was going underneath, and hand over his passwords so a colleague may step in and run his enterprise.
'Is that this my new life?': Jarring actuality of COVID-19 battle
Ikosidekas was on a ventilator in a essential situation for 15 days.
He developed life-threatening pneumonia hypoxia which shortly unfold to his lungs and brought about a blood clot.
His household couldn't go to him and got an replace that he was alive as soon as a day.
When Ikosidekas ultimately awoke from the coma, he was on his personal and had no thought what had occurred.
He had bedsores on his face, a gap in his cheek and cuts throughout his tongue.
He then found he must study to stroll once more.
"My whole physique had simply stopped doing what it was used to doing," Ikosidekas mentioned.
"I bear in mind the primary time I needed to have a bathe within the hospital. I used to be huffing and puffing it was that exhausting. I assumed, 'Is that this my new life?'"
Ikosidekas mentioned he was given unbelievable care and is grateful to have such devoted healthcare staff protecting him alive.
He was informed he'd must spend two months in hospital.
Remarkably, he fought to have the ability to go dwelling every week after getting out of the coma.
However he was not returning to normality.
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'Like I used to be underneath home arrest': Lengthy and painful highway to restoration
Ikosidekas needed to inject himself with blood thinners twice a day and use a strolling body.
He was unable to drive and had frequent physiotherapy.
"I felt like I used to be underneath home arrest in a way," he mentioned.
"I used to be on heavy-duty medicine which additionally made me extraordinarily emotional, so the subsequent few months had been extraordinarily difficult.
"I had scars on my face from the medicine tubes, I could not even recognise myself.
"It was a protracted and painful highway."
Ikosidekas discovered concentrating very troublesome and docs warned him to not work for lengthy intervals as he may overstrain his mind - one thing that rocked the "workaholic".
"That was additionally very regarding for me as a result of I assumed, 'Am I ever going to have the ability to work on the identical functionality that I as soon as was?' My work was every little thing."
Ikosidekas - who's now totally vaccinated - returned to work a month after his launch, however was solely ready to return full-time in March.
He remained on blood thinners and steroids for six months.
As he was beginning to really feel bodily higher, he caught the Omicron pressure of COVID-19.
The sickness was nowhere close to as important, however the anxiousness of dealing with the virus once more hit him onerous.
'Distressing' flashbacks like being trapped in a nightmare
A 12 months since contracting COVID-19, Ikosidekas is barely now thought-about totally recovered.
He's bodily again to his outdated self, however has been identified with PTSD and the psychological impacts are important.
"I've plenty of flashbacks. It is fairly distressing," the Melbourne man mentioned.
"My solely recollections throughout that point are lucid goals, the place I used to be paralysed and could not transfer my physique or communicate.
"It was terrifying, like being in a nightmare I could not get up from."
He has moved again in along with his mother and father who, together with a psychologist, are serving to him handle his PTSD.
The 32-year-old is assured he'll transfer previous the psychological battle and is grateful he can return to work and his social life.
"I am 100 per cent again and I could not be happier about it," he mentioned.
His heath battle has taught him to not put something in life off.
"You do not know what you are going to have subsequent 12 months," he mentioned.