Overcoming Covid-19: “We had to fight and get out of this alive”

Grace a medical practitioner based in Kenya shared her story about how and her family survived through Covid-19 after being infected with the virus.

It was in early May 2021 when Grace realized that she started to exhibit some of the symptoms of Covid-19. She said that it started with a fever and some muscle pain.

As a nurse out on the field to serve patients and as a front-liner, Grace is susceptible to being infected by Covid-19. Although she has been practicing safety protocols and precautionary measures against the Covid-19, she could inevitably contract the virus.

On the other hand, it didn’t take long before her immediate family started to have the same symptoms like hers.

Her suspicion was confirmed when she and her family went to take the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and it turned out positive.

“I immediately knew what it was and that we had to fight and get out of this alive,” Grace said. Docsun Biomed Report on COVID 19 Surges in Africa – Docsun Computation MedLab

They were all scared and didn’t know what to expect but they knew that they needed to pass through it together and be each other’s source of strength.

Grace and her family got infected by Covid-19 at the peak of the pandemic thus most of the hospitals were fully occupied with severe cases of Covid-19, so Grace and her family decided to self-quarantine at home while they take their prescribed medication.

There was no one to take care of them but themselves. Grace as a nurse did all that she knows to manage herself and her family. She instructed them on what to do the same way she does for her patients.

Grace was a nurse and patient at the same time.

It was a sigh of relief for Grace and her family that none of them experienced severe symptoms or required oxygen to breathe.

Aside from fighting Covid-19, Grace and her family went through a lot of Covid-19 discrimination from a couple of their friends who doesn’t understand clearly the virus. The stigma that the virus entails to them and the people who have suffered Covid-19 prompted fear and led them to be somewhat outcasted.

As the days went by, the only symptoms they had were the loss of taste and smell the fever was going down, and also the dry cough was wearing off.

“It was such a relief for me to see my family getting well,” Grace said.

Grace and her family is living proof that one can recover from Covid-19 at home if the symptoms are not critical.

Grace said that one of the hardest parts during their Covid experience was the recovery phase of providing financial support to the family as well as the stigma that entails but she is glad that she and her family have overcome this challenge in their life.

In Kenya, Covid-19 management costs in hospitals per patient per day range KES 21,359 for asymptomatic patients, KES 21,361 for patients with mild symptoms, KES 24,705 for patients with severe disease, and KES 51,684 for critical Covid-19 patients in ICU’s.

Self-recovery for Grace and her family was cheaper since even the Covid-19 had not affected them that much. After recovering Grace and her husband were left with little or no debt to pay back which eased their financial recovery too.

Months later after recovering, Grace and her family still continue to take precautions against the virus to prevent them from being infected again.

Grace also said that she had to change her family’s meal diet to one that will help boost their immunity since the virus left them weak.

Grace has also ensured that they all have gotten the Covid-19 vaccine.

“The virus did not make us weak but instead it made us stronger and better,” Grace said as she reminisces her battle with the Covid-19 virus.

As the world continues to battle up with the Covid-19 virus, people should continue to practice safety precautions and start monitoring their health.

At DOCSUN we have developed a non-invasive, non-contact, and fast health monitoring system that scans for the user’s vital signs and lets them know their current health status.