NEWCASTLE KZN: Local restaurateur counts his blessings after surviving Covid-19

It’s been a month since chef and restaurateur, Norbert Kade, was discharged from hospital.

He still suffers from some of the effects of the Covid-19 virus which landed him there. He experiences fatigue, still gets dizzy and short of breath from time to time, but he is grateful to be the road to recovery, considering some of his fellow patients have either died or are still in intensive care, fighting to stay alive.

Norbert spent Christmas and New Year in hospital; the only celebration he had was to see and hear from his friends and family via telephonic video chats.

“I had a very emotional time in hospital. When you see what Covid-19 does to people, it starts to play with your mind. At one point during my stay, when I was in ICU, I had a really bad night. I even had thoughts I might die. I was struggling to breathe and I had a lot of phlegm. Emotionally, I hit a wall. I just sat staring into space, or simply wept. I did this for most of the day but the staff kept encouraging me,” he recalled.

Norbert was first admitted to a Covid-19 ward in December, after arriving at the hospital gasping for air and subsequently testing positive for the virus. He was later transferred to the intensive care unit because his oxygen saturation levels would not improve.

What he witnessed there will stay with him forever.

“I don’t know how the nurses and doctors do it,” he said in wonder. “There was a very sick lady in the bed across from me… They tried so hard to save her, but she passed away. Not even an hour later, the doctor who had attended to this woman came to visit me, a bright smile on her face and words of encouragement. I just stared at her in amazement… What a woman!” exclaimed Norbert.

Norbert later discovered the woman who had passed away was in fact the sister of one of his ward companions he had come to know, when he was first admitted into the Covid-19 ward.

“I remember how this man spoke so highly of his sister. I could see the genuine love he had for her and how worried he was about her. He knew she was in another ward fighting Covid-19 as well. I said I would pray for her. When I heard it was the same woman who had passed away, my heart went out to him.”

Norbert cannot sing enough the praises of nurses, doctors and all hospital staff.

“They are absolutely amazing,” he stated, describing the wards as hectically busy but despite the pace, the medical staff always seemed to have a kind word for him and still rallied around their patients with a dedication he found astounding. I asked a nurse one day how she copes. She smiled at me and said, ‘We take our turns going to the bathroom where we have a quiet cry, then we pull ourselves together and we soldier on’. I was, and am, in awe. One nurse kept telling me she wished the public could visit the wards for a day to see with their own eyes what is going on and perhaps then they would take this virus more seriously.”

Hospital staff are extremely concerned about the terrifying new Covid-19 strain, said Norbert.

“They are really worried about the number of young people contracting it, becoming very ill and even sometimes dying from it,” he said. To help make life just a bit easier for hospital personnel, Norbert advised patients to work with nurses and doctors and not fight the system.

“They work so hard so get their patients better. Don’t fight the healing machine. Trust in them and let them do their jobs. It will make your and their lives much easier. Next time you want to say something ill-tempered or rude, consider your words first.”

Norbert cautioned others to practice safety protocols and do what is in their power to do. He is adamant however, there is no place for stigmatisation of people who have contracted Covid-19.

“Do not play the blame game! You can contract this virus from anywhere! It’s no one’s fault. I was exceptionally careful about safety protocol and even though I thought it would never happen to me, I got it. We need to support each other, not blame or ostracize each other,” he cautioned, adding Covid-19 is scary enough and if a person is in hospital or in isolation, it is very lonely and therefore extremely important to stay in touch with that person through messages or video chats, to let them know they are not alone.

He thanked everyone who did this for him when he was hospitalised.

After being discharged, Norbert said he bumped into one of the nurses he had forged a friendship with while still in hospital.

“Weeks later, this nurse still remembered me. She enquired as to how I was doing then gave me strict advice to take it easy. Still caring, even though I am no longer her patient!” he chuckled.

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