BY EVANS MATHANDA
FIFTY-SEVEN-year-old Joyce Tasuruvara watched the Harare City Council white ambulance reverse and approach the main gate at her house in Hatfield, Harare, to pick her up for admission as a COVID-19 patient.
“I was coughing, vomiting and struggling to breathe. I could sense that the angel of death had come for me. I had heard stories of too many people succumbing to the COVID-19 pandemic at home and in hospitals in the country, and I thought that it was my turn,” Tasuruvara narrated her battle with COVID-19.
She said she was very scared as too many people had succumbed to the pandemic during the winter season mainly in July, many of them without getting medical attention.
During the 2021 winter season, Zimbabwe experienced the highest number of deaths as the third wave of the pandemic wreaked havoc. For instance, on July 16, the country experienced one of the highest deaths at 102, while new infections on that day were 2 296.
Tasuruvara said reading a lot of stuff on social media platforms, where she came across scary information such as that COVID-19 patients were being mistreated at hospitals in Zimbabwe, worsened the situation.
What she did not know is that some of the information was exaggerated, unverified and fake social media reports.
“I thought that it was better to die at my house than at Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital. The moment I saw two men pulling me out on a stretcher bed, I began to regret having requested an ambulance to fetch me thinking that I was just going to die there,” she said.
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“However, I had no option, but to be hospitalised as I was staying alone. I found it difficult to cook and I wasn’t eating well, so hospitalisation was the only way out.
“I was feeling very weak and could not do anything on my own, except changing sides in bed.”
On the way to hospital, Tasuruvara says she was scared of dying to the extent that she continually recited a sinner’s prayer in preparation for death.
“My biggest fear was to die at Wilkins’ main COVID-19 isolation and treatment centre. I felt an overwhelming desire to talk to my family members as my mind was littered with a series of rhetorical questions. So what if I die of COVID-19? So is this virus real? Why did I call this ambulance? So how many people contracted this virus at my workplace? The internal monologue went on while intra-personal conflicts worsened my situation before I even reached Wilkins,” she said.
Tasuruvara tested positive for COVID-19 at her workplace on July 27, 2021. The organisation had hired a private company to do COVID-19 tests after one employee had tested positive for the deadly virus.
“Within five minutes, I was attended to by a male nurse, Blessing Muzvuzvu, who was completely covered in personal protective equipment. The nurse was fully protected and he looked young. Peeping through the face shield the nurse said, ‘Makadii Mhamha, murikunzwasei?’ (Good day ma’am, how are you feeling?),” she recalled.
“I told him that I was in great pain. A medical doctor at the hospital then came in to perform tests. Contrary to social media reports, the staff at the hospital was so caring and I immediately felt at home. It immediately gave me a little bit of strength and hope.”
Tasuruvara experienced a whole different attitude and environment at Wilkins, compared to what she had read or heard.
“I thought no one was going to attend to me since COVID-19 is a deadly pandemic. I thought that was the end of my life and I had accepted it. Honestly, it might be just a lack of resources, but some nurses at Wilkins are so caring,” she narrated.
“The counselling process made me feel that COVID-19 impact could be more deadly psychologically. Counselling alone is what made me strong. I had good time with nurses and doctors. What you hear on social media is exaggerated and I think experience is the best teacher. You can’t go around telling people about the situation at the COVID-19 isolation centres when you have never been a patient there.”
Health and Child Care deputy minister John Magwiro said hospital COVID-19 isolation was better than home isolation when someone is at a critical stage, although some prefer home care to hospital COVID-19 isolation centres.
“It depends on the situation on the ground when dealing with COVID-19 patients. There is need to do an assessment before one decides to do home isolation or even to be at isolation centres. I think hospital isolation is recommended, especially when someone is at a critical stage because you need to be around medical practitioners,” he said.
Tasuruvara was admitted at a critical time when she could no longer do anything for herself. She said nurses would assist her to bath every morning, a situation that made her wonder if every patient admitted at the institution was receiving the same treatment and care.
“After about four days, I was feeling better because I would visit the bathroom without the assistance of anyone. Walking in the hospital ward passage five times in the morning became my daily exercise. I wanted to make the nurses’ job easier by doing some things by myself. Spending 20 days at Wilkins was better than battling COVID-19 at home alone,” she said.
A medical doctor, who refused to be named, also commented: “We deal with different types of people who come in with different conditions. So first we do a needs assessment to see what a patient needs at that moment, for instance, counselling or medical attention before counselling.
“But most people prefer home isolation to hospital admission, and I think this is because of misconceptions that if you are admitted in hospitals you die. So basically, people fear death, but hospital is better than home isolation, especially when you are critically sick.”
Tasuruvara recovered from COVID-19 and says she is now happy to be back at home to testify that the pandemic is real.
She said as soon as she went back home, she immediately took the COVID-19 vaccine.
Zimbabwe embarked on its COVID-19 vaccination programme in February this year after receiving a donation of 200 000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China. More than three million people have now received their first jab, while more than 2,2 million are fully vaccinated.
However, there have been some myths and misconceptions surrounding the COVID-19 vaccines globally and this has affected vaccine uptake in Zimbabwe.
- Follow Evans on Twitter @EvansMathanda19
