Bluff doctor shares her Covid-19 story

“IT is almost inevitable that you will get in contact with somebody that has a Covid-19 infection as a healthcare worker. You have this constant fear that there is something out there that could make you very sick.” These are the concerns of qualified medical doctor, Dr Carmen James who is currently on her road to recovery after recently testing positive for Covid-19.

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Medical doctor turned integrative doctor and wellness coach, Carmen offered her services at a local government clinic to help coronavirus patients from mid-March, following the increase in Covid-19 cases in the country.
“Two of the patients that I was in close contact with, tested positive for Covid-19. I became aware of their results on Friday last week (3 April). So I decided, when I heard about their results, I would put myself in precautionary self-isolation. I did that, but then I started to develop symptoms,” she said.

Carmen’s condition worsened progressively and she soon realised that she needed to get tested. “I knew that I needed to get tested but I also didn’t trust that I was going to be able to drive myself and I obviously didn’t want to expose anybody else to me, without knowing my diagnosis. I notified my bosses of how I was feeling. They’ve been extremely supportive throughout this whole thing and they decided that they would send a team to come and test me at home,” said the doctor who lives on the Bluff.

She shared that this became quite problematic, as she lives in a complex and her neighbours were alarmed when they saw the medical team of eight people dressed in PPE (personal protective equipment) coming into her apartment to test her for Covid-19.

“It was scary and concerning for the community that I live in. The test was very uncomfortable, and that is putting it lightly. I had a throat and nose swab. They have to stick the swab very deep into your nose. It’s not a pleasant experience at all. After my test, I continued living in isolation. I was relieved when my results came back positive because I knew that something was wrong and that I was going through something that I had never experienced before.”

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Her symptoms included extreme body pain, a severe sore throat, overwhelming fatigue, a low grade fever on the first day, on and off chills, a severe headache one night, loss of appetite and lost sense of taste. “Food does not taste good to me and I don’t want to eat it because I don’t feel hungry at all. That is still a symptom that is on-going. I’ve been in self-isolation for over a week now after my test. For the first few days I felt dreadful but I feel like I’ve turned a corner and my energy has definitely come back. I feel a lot like myself.”

She has been keeping a record of her symptoms since the day that she was tested and is grateful that she only suffered mild disease and making a good recovery. She maintains that there is currently no approved medication for treating Covid-19 patients but does encourage rest, hydration, a healthy diet and taking supplements that support the immune system. “I take Vitamin C, Zinc, Echinacea and CBD oil which are great for the immune system.”

Carmen shared that stigmatisation towards people with Covid-19 or those suspected to have it, is still an issue in the greater public. “A lot of people are in fear mode, especially those that don’t understand what is going on or are misinformed. We’re all in this together and we shouldn’t be treating people in a way that we wouldn’t want our family members, friends or ourselves to be treated. If we start to stigmatise and label people, we cause them to feel even more isolated than they already are. Let’s just be kind to each other and try to understand that we are living in unprecedented times at the moment. As long as we all follow the necessary protocols, we will be able to fight this together and overcome Covid-19,” said the optimistic doctor.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. For any comments or queries, contact the National Group Editor, Irma Green at irma@caxton.co.za or the Legal Adviser, Helene Eloff at  helene@caxton.co.za.

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