When Covid-19 hits home; a prepper with the virus

A few years ago, I met a man on the internet named Craig. Like me, Craig was a prepper, and Craig and I were in many of the same prepper groups on the web. He runs several prepping Facebook groups, including the 365Survive network of groups and pages. Some of these groups include Prepperlinks and SHTF medics. (I encourage you to check out both. LOTS of great info and articles are posted in these groups daily!)

After a while, I was helping Craig with some of those pages, and we became friends.

Over the past few months, more and more Corona-Virus information was being released in our prep groups. It seemed to dominate the topic of discussion in these groups, and understandably so. Then few weeks ago, Craig told me that he had been diagnosed with Covid-19. I was not shocked, though a bit surprised. For a few days, it certainly had many in the group worried.

Fortunately, Craig is pulling through. I thought it would interesting and informative to ask Craig about having this virus, both as a former Royal Marine, and as a prepper. So I did a little informal email interview with Craig. Enjoy!

Can you give us a little background information on yourself, and how you got into prepping?

My background is that I was a Royal Navy Commando Medic with the Royal Marine Commandos as well as a Search and Rescue Medic. Unfortunately my career was cut short due to injuries I received while in service. So I am now retired and miss it.

I was probably a prepper before I knew of such a thing. In Scotland during the 1970s when we had the 3 day working week, with the fuel strikes and the rotating power cuts, my mum use to put extra food tins away. She said these were not to be touched, they are for a rainy day.  At the age of 7 or 8, I did not know what that meant.

But when in the military I was in a position to see what was happening around the world. Both on deployment and on the news. I too started putting cans of food away for “a rainy day”. Eventually with the internet becoming more accessible, I found out that I was actually a prepper.

My next question: Do you kind of know how you got corona-virus? If so do you mind sharing that with us? And what was it like for the first several days that you had it.

I don’t know how I contracted corona-virus. Being a medic, I was primed to look for the symptoms that have been published, but none of them were present.

I started to get a scratchy throat which became more painful (like swallowing glass and razor blades). I didn’t have a temperature, so I just thought it was a bout of laryngitis. But then I had chest pain and breathing got harder. When the pain started radiating, I knew it wasn’t right. So just before midnight I called our medical non-emergency number. After a short discussion and questions about this or that symptoms, they sent me to the ER for medical service at one of the city hospitals.

After arrival and book in, due to the prospect of having an highly infectious virus, they send me back out to my car to wait. I would receive a call on my mobile phone to come into the hospital and see the doctor.

It was about an hour wait before I got the call. The doctor did a full medical exam on me. He took swabs (for corona-virus). I was the 29th person he had seen since he started the shift. All those before me were all presenting with suspected corona-virus. They ranged from the old all the way down to young children.

He advised me I made a good diagnosis on laryngitis and said he suspected I have corona-virus. I was told to go home, self isolate for 7days, and take paracetamol. If the symptoms get worse, I should phone him and he would get me admitted into hospital. He told me that they would contact me with results.

Just a few days later I had the results and was told it was confirmed I had corona-virus.

So where are you at now physically, mentally, and emotionally? I’m reading that you are on the mend. Can you tell a us a bit about that?

I think being a retired commando and search and rescue medic has me in a good place. No one can prepare fully for an event like this. So physically, I’m recovering.

Emotionally, I’m doing OK.  Psychologically, the hardest part is the lock-down. Not being able to do the simple things like going for a drive or visit your family and friends is taking a toll. But thankfully we live in an age of technology between email, mobile phones, chat apps, social media we can communicate.

As for the physical attributes after contracting covid-19, that will take however long it takes to get back to the level of health I was before. I hope my acquired immunity lasts long enough for a vaccine to be developed before the virus mutates substantially enough to cause problems again.

Did being a prepper before this started help play a role in this for you? Can you tell us about it?

Being a prepper before would not do anything to protect me from catching covid-19. As preppers, we don’t have an invisible shield from this. We are, in my view, just as vulnerable as everyone else in contracting the virus. Where being a prepper has been invaluable, is on the stores of food and supplies I have on various locations which have been put away over time.

It means no need to rush out and panic buy. It also means your not asking someone to go yo the shops for you which could put them in danger.

What prepper lessons have you come away from this with?

The lessons I learned are that there are some holes in my preps that I can work on filling such as masks , gloves, hand soap, detergent, surgical 99% alcohol. I did have them in my stores but not enough to make me feel comfortable

Preps always evolve and its during times like these you see the holes. I don’t think anyone can prepare fully for corona-virus. If we did, we would have to live in a bubble. Thankfully, because I prep and prepare, I’m have an easier time dealing with the aftermath than those who don’t prepare.

You can find Craig on FB in the Prepperlinks and SHTF medics groups. So please stop by, say hello, and wish him well!

What have you learned/observed from this pandemic? Tell us about them in the comments section below.

Stay safe out there!

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