Be aware of early COVID-19 signs, says ill woman's daughter

An Ottawa woman is urging people to watch for lesser-known signs of COVID-19 after her mother ended up in the intensive care ward, leaving the rest of her family to wonder if they've been infected too.

Rebecca Tiessen said her mother came to Ottawa from Leamington, Ont., on March 21 to open her summer home, and needed to stay with her family while the house was being prepared. 

About four days after she arrived, she started feeling incredibly worn down, Tiessen said. However, she didn't have the traditional symptoms associated with COVID-19, like a cough, a fever or trouble breathing

"We kept checking for those," she said. "And she really was not feeling well. She was exhausted, but she had none of those symptoms."

Now in intensive care

After several days, Tiessen decided on March 28 it was time for her mother to go to the hospital.

By that time, her mother — who is in her 70s — had come down with shortness of breath. As of Sunday, she was in intensive care.

"We have a lot of concerns about her, but she is stable and in fairly good spirits. She's receiving oxygen, she's not on a ventilator," Tiessen said. 

Tiessen said she wanted to share her mother's story because it shows that the early symptoms can be different for different people.

She said doctors have told her to assume her whole family is infected. 

Struggling with unknowns

"Everyone is really well, My oldest has had no symptoms, and my youngest has expressed feeling slightly deprived of oxygen — like you would feel if you were on an airplane for a long period of time," she said.

"My husband was dizzy for a couple of days with that same type of ... feeling."

Tiessen said that besides her mother, she's by far the most sick. She's dealt with the same dizzy feeling, but also a sore throat, fever, headaches and bad body aches.

She said the family is struggling with a lot of unknowns.

"Do I need to self-isolate, or have we all been exposed? Would it cause more emotional problems for my kids if I were to self-isolate than the health benefits of doing so? It's a lot of uncertainty," she said.

"The more information that we can share about early stage symptoms … [it] might keep people home on those days when they're starting to feel [sick] and just wait it out until they know they're healthy."

Public health officials have said that most people with mild symptoms can self-isolate and get better, but those with severe symptoms should call 911.