After recovering from COVID-19, Vancouver woman grateful for family and medical system

A Vancouver woman who was in critical condition after being diagnosed with COVID-19 says she's feeling grateful for the help of medical professionals and her family as she recovers.

Peggy Tam's February vacation to Spain was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime.

Her son, David Tam, and daughter-in-law took her on a holiday to celebrate her retirement and 70th birthday but days after she returned to Vancouver from Spain on March 10, Peggy Tam started the fight of her life.

"She told us she was going to the ER by text and that was the last we heard from her directly," Peggy's son, David Tam, said.

Peggy Tam was tested for COVID-19 at an urgent care centre after she returned. The results were positive. 

Her symptoms started off mild but she has a lifelong lingering cough that got worse and she developed a fever that wouldn't let up.

"That fever was up about 39, almost up to 40 [degrees Celsius]," Peggy said.

"Taking the maximum amount of Tylenol didn't bring it down a bit, not even half a degree."

As a retired pharmacist, she knew that was a red flag and went to Vancouver General Hospital in a haze. She was sedated and put on a ventilator for almost two weeks.

For the Tam family, it was the most frightening time of their lives.

Frightening experience

David Tam said his mother's sedation and intubation was done in a matter of hours. It lasted two weeks.

"We were just so scared," David Tam said. "We were playing worst case scenarios in our mind."

David couldn't visit his mother and they couldn't do video calls while she was under. She tried to communicate with an erasable board and felt pen.

"I could hardly lift that felt pen," Peggy Tam said. "Can you imagine how weak you become laying in bed for three weeks or two weeks?"

Peggy Tam pulled through. She's home now with residual symptoms.

Her voice is still hoarse from weeks of being intubated and she's relying on family for support. David Tam helps with dropping off groceries. He leaves them at the front door and texts her when they've arrived.

A public health nurse calls her almost every day to check in. 

Peggy Tam says the support from her family and the medical system has helped put her at ease.

"Even though there's nobody else in the house ... there's somebody I can reach out to," Peggy Tam said.

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