Krugersdorper tells his story of living in isolation with Covid-19

“During all of this I kept thinking that if this is mild then I don’t want to know how bad it must get,” said 41-year-old Krugersdorper, Leon Haywood in a recent Facebook post.

“I have tested positive for Covid-19 (with Lancet),” he wrote. On 2 April, Leon took to Facebook to tell the story of his experience with the coronavirus. His post has over 550 comments and 1 800 shares.

He explained he had no knowledge of how or from whom he contracted the virus.

“It started with a scratch in my throat and a postnasal drip. I get that at this time of the year anyway, so didn’t think too much of it. I also realised that I found it harder to breathe. Maybe it’s my asthma? I feel tired as well,” he thought at the time.

On the weekend of 22 March they received a letter from his daughter’s nursery school informing them one of the parents had tested positive for Covid-19. The school was concerned that two learners could also have been infected. Leon said his daughter played with them at aftercare.

On the Sunday he woke up with a nosebleed that lasted for hours, and his wife made a doctor’s appointment for him for the next day.

“I still went about my business as usual. I went to the doctor and filled in some forms. The doctor did a verbal test by asking me some questions. He did a physical test and looked concerned,” he said as he explained what led to him taking the test.

Leon was then told to self-isolate.

“I told my wife it can’t be corona as I have had no fever whatsoever, and that is the main thing everyone complains about.”

On 26 March, the day before the lockdown started, the doctor phoned and informed him that he had tested positive and should quarantine himself for 14 days. Leon then moved into a flat on the other side of the house.

He explained that a sister from the Department of Health came to see their family. She wore a mask and made sure she stayed two metres away from them while addressing them.

“My wife went outside the house and the nurse asked her to please go inside and put on a mask before speaking to her. Masks are important, trust me,” he said.

His symptoms had escalated and his eyes and kidneys were sore, he struggled to breathe, he had fever blisters, nosebleeds, headaches, a post-nasal drip, he was coughing, but not too much, his body ached and he suffered from fatigue to the point where he could not lift his arms.

He was prescribed medicine to treat his symptoms, and antibiotics for the secondary infection.

“I spend most of my time on Facebook, and I am horrified by some of the posts where people argue about wearing masks.”

He explained that he did feel better at times, but then it was like a switch being flipped and everything went downhill again. As soon as he thought the virus was towards its end, he became as sick as a dog again.

A close friend of the family delivered food to them.

“Most people are scared and rightly so. This is no walk in the park. It is a terrible virus and it seems that everyone gets it in either a ‘light’ form, or ‘you are going to die’ form.”

He posted his story because he believed it could be of some help to others, adding that he wanted people to stay indoors.

He advised people to order food online and wipe their groceries down and sanitize them when they are delivered.

He asked the public to refrain from dissuading others to wear masks. Instead, Haywood said, we should educate each other on how to wear it. He was not, however, as adamant about gloves and does not consider it of much value in limiting the coronavirus from spreading

He ended by saying the most important thing he can ask of others is not to touch their faces.

In terms of their policies, neither the Department of Health nor the National Institute for Communicable Diseases may confirm the identity if any patient or where he or she lives. Nonetheless, the News has presented both with media queries and are awaiting their responses. This article will be updated when this is received.