The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Sunday News Reporter
COVID-19 continues to escalate in Zimbabwe with a total of 1 160 deaths having been recorded, 32 646 active cases and 24 419 recoveries by Thursday 28 January.
It is however, not a hopeless and gloomy situation as there are testimonies of people who have recovered the deadly pandemic who have stories to tell. Sunday News reporter, Judith Phiri (JP) caught up with Mrs Trish Hakata Gurura (THG) the founder of the GoGetter Movement, a women empowerment organisation, who is a Covid-19 survivor to give us an account of her experience after having been diagnosed with the deadly virus.
JP: When did you contract the coronavirus and what were some of the symptoms?
THG: I tested positive on 29 December last year when I was preparing for my wedding ceremony which was meant to be on 2 January. The reason why I actually got tested is I initially thought I was just having flu. I remember the first-time I started not feeling well I was a bit nauseous and developed flu, but I didn’t have any other symptoms.
Then my fiancé started to feel some aches and this was actually four days before our wedding day. Then he said to me why don’t we go get tested and make sure it’s not Covid-19. That’s when we got tested and I came out positive and he was negative.
JP: When tracing back your activities how do you think you contracted the virus?
THG: I don’t know how I got the virus or where I contracted it. But I can say most of the times I was not really wearing my mask and also I wasn’t really social distancing from my friends. This happens a lot when you think that everyone around you is safe because no one is coughing. But I got to realise that probably I got in contact with someone who was asymptomatic. So I don’t know where I got it.
JP: How did you take the news that you were Covid-19 positive and how did that affect your wedding preparations?
THG: When I tested positive I didn’t feel anything because I didn’t think it was such a big deal because I thought I will fight it in a day or two, but then as the day went on I started to feel stressed. I was a bit agitated and sad. I was just crying because it started to dawn on me that because I tested positive my wedding had to be cancelled since I tested positive on a Tuesday and our wedding was supposed to be on a Saturday.
As soon I got my results the first person to know was my husband. He thought I was just joking but when he realised that I was really serious, now that I reflect back on it, he hugged me, even though I had just told him I’m Covid-19 positive. I told my mum immediately and she was like “you will be fine” and I also had to tell my friends immediately because the day I got my test results was the day of my hen party, so we were supposed to go to the spa. So, I had to tell them that we were cancelling everything.
I had to tell my wedding guests, I sent messages. I wasn’t too explicit about it but anyone who asked I would tell them I have Covid-19. I didn’t feel like it’s something I should be ashamed of or something that I had to hide from people because I felt I had the responsibility to tell them so that they self-isolate because I couldn’t think of everybody, as you know I was having a wedding so I met a lot of people so I told the people that I could tell and miraculously nobody else fell sick from them. The wedding ceremony will be held some other time in the near future but I am already a “Mrs” because we had already done the signing ceremony and what is left is the white wedding ceremony.
JP: What medication or treatment did you take?
THG: I had a friend who had tested positive for Covid-19 so I called her. She gave me a lot of information on medication because I didn’t have anything, even when I had flu I was just taking flumel tablets. I think that also helped me because when I then looked at the label it said paracetamol. I also got a list of things to buy from my friend who had contracted it.
I got the vitamins, ingredients for concoctions such as lemons, ginger, garlic and honey. The doctor had also told me that because my symptoms were mild I could just focus on the natural remedies. I was taking paracetamol, aspirin and my friend who had come from America gave me vitamin powder that I would drink with water and also melatonin that I could drink before I slept.
So, I had overwhelming support from my friends as they gave me medication and others giving advice. I didn’t have shortness of breath, I was just at home and my husband was taking care of me ensuring that I was warm and preparing all meals for me.
JP: How did you spend your isolation days?
THG: My husband was there to take care of me, making meals, and ensuring that I got all my medication. I also had friends who were making video calls, phone calls just checking up on me to see if I was okay, my mum was calling me all the time. Everyone was trying to find ways of making sure that I’m okay, even my in laws were also sending advice on what to do and what medication I should get.
So, the support was overwhelming and I guess that’s how I got through it as everyone was still talking to me. Some would come see me by standing at the gate and just waving at me because the lockdown had not been announced as yet. My sisters would also come and stand by the gate and wave at me. It was quite a nice feeling and I never felt lonely.
JP: How long did it take you to recover?
THG: I didn’t have heavy symptoms so I don’t know when I recovered but the doctor had said that after 14 days I can go out of isolation and go and get retested. When I got tested I wasn’t feeling too sick, I then got too sick two days after I had tested positive. The flu was now bad, had body aches and headaches, but because I was taking medication I wasn’t in that state for too long.
Sometimes I have back aches but then it usually happens when I get cold and I got advice that it will take a while for me to be 100 percent myself. I have realised that whenever I get cold I start to feel like I’m getting the symptoms back so as soon as I get cold I get into the blankets and get a hot water bottle to warm myself up then I become better again. But I am now Covid-19 negative.
JP: Looking back what were some of your key takeaways from your experience?
THG: When I look back, I see the power of God. He knows what will happen tomorrow or in a week’s time, things that we don’t know will happen. I take it God made sure we get tested and stop the wedding so that we don’t put lives of other people in danger.
It could not be us only, but some other people with Covid-19 could have come to the wedding. In fact we got to know later that there were some relatives who had Covid-19 too, and some even passed away during these past two weeks due to the virus and most of them were actually coming to the wedding, so imagine what would have happened if they had come to the wedding. I think everything happens for a reason. In life we should be our brother’s keepers.
JP: Any word of advice to people out there who are living in fear of the pandemic?
THG: To those who have Covid-19, they should stay positive, keep the faith, take care of themselves and rest a lot. I say to them, go outside, breathe fresh air if you are in a place where there are less people. Isolate, sanitise everywhere you touch and know that it will pass, don’t relax when you start feeling better, this disease is unpredictable so just be vigilant, take your medication and keep warm.
To those who know some who has the virus, support them but keep your distance as well. Most people actually die from loneliness, they lose that drive to fight for their lives, be there for them as much as you can. That phone call can change their life. Anybody can get this virus so it can be hard to balance your work and health. It’s time we take it seriously, we need to isolate to prevent it from spreading. I had to learn it the hard way but it is now my responsibility to raise awareness for the benefit of others.
