My COVID-19 scare
By Antoinette Ganyani
Sometime in November 2020, l fell sick. I felt dizzy and had blurry vision. Initially I brushed it off and thought that it was because of the excessive heat. Who could blame me, we had just completed the month of October, the pick of the dry season in Zimbabwe.
As time went on, the condition got worse. I would experience shortness of breath after doing small chores at home. When l got to crowded places, I would have the blurry visions again.
I realized that the situation was not getting better, so I decided to visit the Public Medical Aid Insurance doctor. The doctor referred me to the laboratory for blood tests. The results came out after two days. The doctor told me that my blood level was very low. He instructed me to go to a government referral hospital for admission.
Before admission, the doctor had instructed that I should have a COVID-19 test. I paid US$20 for the test. I was with my family when I went for testing. We waited for the results which came out after 30 minutes. The results came back positive. After this sad news we were told to go into isolation at home. None of my family members was tested.
It was indeed a sad moment for me and my family. We were well aware that people with weak immune system were more vulnerable to COVID-19. The doctor had already indicated that my immune system was weak and I needed to be admitted. On the other hand I had tested positive and was supposed to be in isolation.
What made this whole situation scary was the fact that there was no contact tracing done. We were in quarantine for two weeks at home, waiting to get further instructions and directives from the COVID-19 taskforce. Two weeks went by without getting any communication from the taskforce. There was no contact tracing or any visit from the health officials. My family and I were all living in fear. We had heard the stories about families being wiped out by the painful disease.
The situation got worse because l then discovered that l had ulcers and needed medication. Unfortunately we could not get the medication because I feared to go out and spread the virus. Despite testing positive of COVID-19, I did not show any symptoms, neither did my family. For me to boost my blood level, l had to rely on home remedies. I took spinach, black jack and drank orange juice as remedies since I could not go to the hospital for blood transfusion.
I started having doubts if ever l had COVID-19. I thought that maybe the testing machines were not accurate. Although I have not gone to the hospital for admission, I feel much better now. I continue to take home remedies and they are working.
COVID-19 came as an emergency that service providers were not prepared for. However, some service providers capitalized on the situation by reaping off clients and charging exorbitant fees while offering questionable services. The two weeks I spend in isolation would have been less traumatic if I had received support from the health department.
I feel that there is need to improve on testing to ensure more accurate results. Communication was not effective. The COVID-19 taskforce teams could have done better in my situation. They were supposed to have given my whole family information and guidance.
