Beating Covid: Calls to friends, wife eased Hibinga’s pain in hospital

In  this series  dubbed ‘Beating Covid,’ we trace victims who caught the virus and overcame it. Yahudu Kitunzi brings the story of Sam Weyre Hibinga, who contracted the virus after a district meeting.

Mr Sam Weyre Hibinga, a resident of Kang’alaba Village in Himutu Sub-county in Butaleja District, attended numerous meetings regarding community issues affecting the area on September 15, 2020.
 It is the day the retired secondary teacher  believes he contracted Covid-19.

After the meeting, Mr Hibinga, 68, was dropped home by a friend in his private car in the evening. They were only two in the vehicle and both of them had their facemasks on. However, when they arrived at Mr Hibinga’s home, they removed the masks and started discussing a number of issues, including how to fight Covid-19 in the district.
Mr Hibinga says after that, he started feeling feverish, but did not want to take a Covid-19 test, so he stayed home.

On September 21, 2020, he got a message from one of his brothers in the USA, telling him they would have a zoom meeting with others about the escalating Covid-19 situation in Butaleja District and suggest interventions. Even though Mr Hibinga says he was not feeling well, he participated in the zoom meeting.

The retired teacher of Physics and Mathematics says his condition worsened the following day. He was advised to buy vitamin C and zinc, and start on self-medication.
“I went to a pharmacy, bought the drugs and made a stop at a restaurant to have something to eat. There, I just forced myself to eat. I had no appetite,” he says, adding that after the meal, he left for the village.

“On reaching the village that day, fever set in and things just got worse,” the former district chairperson says.
“I had no option but to inform my brother about my deteriorating health condition. That is when I got information that the person who had dropped me at home had tested positive for Covid-19 and was in the isolation unit in Mbale Regional Referral Hospital undergoing treatment,” he says.

Mr Hibinga believed he had malaria at the time. 
“It was a war. Malaria started battering me. It shook me like an earthquake right to the bone marrow. I shivered despite the T-shirt, shirt, woollen sweater, sheet, blanket, and bedcover on me. There was no difference between day and night,” he says. 
Mr Hibinga’s brothers in the diaspora, sensing that something was wrong, coordinated with the Butaleja District taskforce to arrange for a Covid-19 test. Although Mr Hibinga was afraid to take the test, his brother insisted that he should do so.

“On Friday, September 25, 2020, the district medical team came home, and took my Covid samples for testing. They also took some samples to test for malaria and typhoid,” he says. 
The results were given to him on October 1, 2020. They were positive. He was then taken that very day to Mbale Regional Referral Hospital by ambulance and admitted to the isolation unit.
After testing positive, Mr Hibinga thought that he would not live much longer.

“I was admitted at 11am and the health workers started working on me at 2pm,” he says.
“They put me on oxygen and my oxygen circulation was measured at 74 per cent, far below normal. At 5 pm, a blood sample was collected from me for more tests. At 7pm, I was given zinc and vitamin C tabs,” he says.
After getting drug injections, his oxygen circulation measured at 82 per cent, which was a slight improvement.
Meanwhile, his wife Suzan Nedaso Weyre wanted to come and check on him in the isolation unit but she was denied access.

“My wife was not in hospital to take care of me because they were not allowing anyone. I was looking after myself with the help of doctors,” he says.
On Mr Hibinga’s second day in the hospital, fever, diarrhoea, nausea, and loss of appetite set in.
“Due to my deteriorating condition, the doctors wanted to transfer me to Mulago National Referral Hospital,” he says. But this did not happen.
Mr Hibinga was occasionally fed on matooke, rice, greens, and stew.

On the third day, he was seen by a medical person at 11pm and he was put off oxygen support.
“I had a headache. I tried to avoid coughing as much as possible to avoid those headaches in vain,” he recalls. 
Mr Hibinga says he called Mr Wafula Oguttu, his best friend and old boy at Bukedi College Kachonga, and informed him about his health condition.
“We talked for 19 minutes about my condition and my book about Bukedi College Kachonga,” he says. This seemed to have improved his mood.

Mr Hibinga was also given antibiotics and put on oxygen when the need arose.
“All are aimed at averting chest infection that could lead to cough and nasal congestion,” he says.
Later, he rang his wife to update her of what was going on. 
“I told her that I was also drinking a ginger, garlic, lemon and hot water concoction and she was happy,” he says.

Despite some improvements, Mr Hibinga was still having difficulty in breathing and acute chest pain. He says he was advised by doctors to drink more water, and sleep more on his stomach. He also recalls being given an antibiotic injection that had been previously administered to him a long time ago in 1982 when he had pneumonia.

“I later started getting hope after more patients were discharged. Among the patients in the isolation unit were health workers,” he says.
Gradually, Mr Hibinga’s health condition improved and the oxygen circulation count read 94 per cent, which was  a big an improvement.
“After five days, I was put off oxygen and I was able to go to the toilet,” he says. Eventually, he recovered enough to leave the hospital.

On the day he was discharged, about five other people were also discharged and told to continue with a syrup they were given.
“On that day the doctor called us and told us to prepare to go home. Preparations were made for our fumigation. When completed, we were sprayed all over, including our property,” Mr Hibinga says. 
He then walked out through the main gate of the facility and entered an ambulance waiting to take him to his home in Kang’alaba.

“I was handed to my family in the presence of the area LC I chairperson, with an appeal that they should help reintegrate me into the community, that they should not stigmatise me, and that if anything, they should listen and gain from my experience,” Mr Hibinga says.
He was given a certificate of discharge and strongly advised to be in some sort of home confinement for about a month. He commends Dr Paul Mutoo and others for saving his life.
Now, he says he follows the doctor’s orders to keep healthy. “I do some simple exercises every morning when I wake up,” Mr Hibinga says. 
His advice to people is to wear face masks and follow other standard operating procedures.

“Every scientist and expert says it is the best weapon we currently have to combat the coronavirus,” he says.
He also stresses that there is need to equip all health workers with personal protective equipment (PPEs), and ensure no stock outs of essentials such as sanitisers.
“While in the isolation unit, I discovered that some people were taking Covid-19 for granted. There is a need for thorough screening and assessment of patients at all entry points in health units,” he says.

Mr Hibinga is currently volunteering in sensitising the community about the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I was requested by a group of concerned people from Butaleja to sensitise the communities about the pandemic. Every Saturday, I appear with others on radio to talk about Covid-19, its effects, how to avoid infection, and mobilise for vaccination,” he says.