Vladimir Jovović from Nikšić, who lives and works in Tivat, had no idea that his 42nd birthday would be special.
That day he celebrated life, and it could have been...
He is aware that even after a month and a half of hospital treatment and fighting, everything is still not over, but he also knows that once he has won the most important battle, he will overcome all the others much more easily.
Instead of him, for 21 days he breathed on a machine that was his only hope and salvation and with which the doctors and he "buyed time" for the immune system to stop the process on the lungs, or for therapy to do it.
But the respirator was also an "enemy" that had to be defeated later so that the lungs could continue to breathe independently. For 17 days, Vladimir was in an "artificial dream".
Later he had nightmarish dreams, but also a much more certain reality.
Before January 25, Vladimir did not know much about aortic dissection, and there was no need to know.
Now he knows that it is a life-threatening disease and that mortality is high, but also that victory is possible.
Until January 25, he knew a large number of people who were covid-positive, heard about those who, unfortunately, lost the battle, but also about those who overcame the corona. Now he is one of them.
"I felt a strong pain in the left side of my chest and I told my wife to take me to the hospital. By the time I got to the Tivat clinic, I felt that I was losing my sight. With the quick intervention of the doctor, I was transferred by ambulance to the Kotor hospital, where we were met by Dr. Mladen Donković, who immediately performed a scan and concluded that there had been a dissection of the aorta. He immediately contacted the Clinical Center and told them to prepare the operating room, to send the young man. That night, January 25, the operation started at around 23 pm and lasted until 5 am," says Vladimir.
We were overjoyed because we are together again. Looking from this position, we are only aware that I have gone through and experienced almost unbelievable things and that I am alive thanks to the doctors and their great expertise and knowledge...
Dr. Aleksandar Mugoša operated on him, and Vladimir does not remember their conversation before the operation and that he managed to say that on that day his wife Danka found out that she was covid positive.
"I don't remember that conversation. Dr. Mugoša told me that later. Immediately after the operation, they tested me and it was determined that I was also covid positive. I got bilateral pneumonia which made further recovery difficult. For the next 21 days, I was on a ventilator, and 17 of those days were in an artificial coma. The nurses were on duty next to me non-stop and took four-hour shifts."
Today, he is aware that he was "on the verge of death" and that during the days he was asleep, the ventilator breathed for him and gave his lungs the time they needed to recover and start fighting without him.
"After waking up, I had nightmares and bad dreams, although the first feeling was happiness and the thought - good that all this is over. And in fact, the fight was still going on. I was still on the ventilator, which was my lifeline for those 17 days, but which now had to be defeated. To facilitate further recovery, the doctors had to perform a tracheotomy so that I could more easily switch from a ventilator to oxygen. It was difficult, but after a few days I succeeded and switched to oxygen. It was a great success both for me and for the doctors who helped me in everything. When I switched to oxygen every day it was getting better and better and even more likely that I would win, which I never doubted for a single moment".
After 27 days he saw Danka.
The wolf still had to wait to hug his father.
"I missed my family a lot and every moment, after waking up, I thought about them. I can't forget how much it meant to me when I saw Danka. Our first meeting was very emotional, but it was important to remain composed because of the situation I was in, because I was still in intensive care. "Parameters are never better" - that was the first reaction of the doctor who observed the situation," says Vladimir with a smile.
And Danka gave Vladimir an additional boost and "pushed" him to leave the intensive care unit as soon as possible and move to the ward.
"A few days after I saw Danka, on February 26, I moved from the intensive care unit to the ward. Day by day the situation improved and the day came when I finally left the hospital and went home to my family".
It wasn't just any day. It was March 6, Vladimir's 42nd birthday.
He was welcomed home with balloons, flowers, a cake, and most importantly - Danka and nine-year-old Vuk.
"We were overjoyed because we are together again. Looking from this position, we are only aware that I have gone through and experienced almost unbelievable things and that I am alive thanks to the doctors and their great expertise and knowledge. It is difficult to find the right words to thank Dr. Mugoša, as well as all the doctors, nurses and medical staff for all the attention, effort, dedication, professionalism and great care they showed me during cardiac surgery. Thanks to the great expertise and knowledge they showed at every moment, everything went well. As hard as it was and at some moments nothing positive could be said, my family and I believed that everything would end well. Now the recovery is ongoing, but the worst is over. Let's move on with a new heart, into a new life".
After waking up, I had nightmares and bad dreams, although the first feeling was happiness and the thought - good that all this is over. And in fact, the fight was still going on. I was still on the ventilator, which was my lifeline for those 17 days, but who had to be defeated now...
Despite all the statistics and expectations, despite the aortic dissection and covid, Vladimir won.
"Isn't this story the best proof that the impossible is still possible if you believe in love, in life and believe in your heart that it deserves to live. When you think like that, then everything makes sure that you arrive at the right time in the right hands. And statistics only serve as anecdotes and as proof that in the presence of faith in miracles, it loses its meaning", wrote Dr. Snežana Mugoša on the day Vladimir went home to celebrate life with his family.
Danka fought for me, for Vuk, for us
My family went through a very difficult period, but thank God it's all behind us now. "Danka had mild pneumonia and accompanying symptoms, but she fought bravely for me, for Vuk, for us," says Vladimir.
And Danka...she still watches over the family, convinced that love really does work miracles.
"It's hard to describe how I felt. Despair, powerlessness, anticipation... Day after day into uncertainty.. And also Vuk with questions about when dad will come home and how he is. How is it... I was saying that it was fine, but with great anxiety because of the uncertainty of what we will hear tomorrow. And yet, I believed that it will and must be good," says Danka.
Friends help welcome
They say that enemies are the easiest to defeat when you have friends by your side. They also say that you are only as strong as your "strong back".
It's the same with covid.
You can't fight him alone.
Not Montenegro, not the whole world.
In this fight with the coronavirus, any help is welcome, but so is the fact that you are not alone.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union has provided Montenegro with non-refundable financial aid in the amount of 53 million euros, as well as an additional 60 million in macro-financial support.
Part of the non-reimbursed EU financial aid will be directed to the construction of two new hospitals, for infectious diseases and dermatovenerology, within the Clinical Center of Montenegro, while 40,5 million euros are intended for direct budget support to mitigate the economic consequences of the pandemic and support the social and economic response of the state authorities.
Of the mentioned money, three million euros were related to the purchase of protective and medical equipment that is necessary for the health system, thus providing 100 respirators, ten modern ultrasound machines and 2,25 million personal protective equipment, including surgical masks, gloves, caps, protective suits, aprons, glasses, shoe covers...
(This story was awarded at this year's competition for the best newspaper article on the process of accession of Montenegro to the EU)
Bonus video:
