Beating Covid: Okabaki blacked out twice before seeking medical care

“My name is Brian Okabaki. I am a social worker and I provide psycho-social support.
I cannot even tell exactly where or when I got the infection. But in the months of May and June this year, I had been moving in more than eight districts, interacting with people but cautiously.
I was in Hoima, Kagadi, Kikuube, Kiryandongo, Nakasongola, Kampala, Jinja, Iganga, Kamuli, and Buyende. I had been travelling alone in some places and in others, with a team.
I cannot say I remember the real day I started feeling sick. After my activity in Kamuli where I had felt some discomfort, I went to a nearby clinic and tested for malaria.  The malaria test turned out positive. I spent two weeks treating malaria not knowing it was the coronavirus.
On one of my rounds, I spent a weekend in Jinja. My friends took me out but I wasn’t feeling fine so I had to go do other tests. I tested for malaria and typhoid and this time, the tests turned out negative.
That is when I had a second thought.  I began to think about Covid-19. I returned to Kampala and went to see my doctor friends at Kawaala Health Centre about my condition. They took my test samples and put me on Azithromycin, Zinc and Vitamin C tablets but there was no change. I got weaker and weaker.
I had another training at Fairway Hotel where I felt like I wasn’t speaking well. That was before my Covid-19 test results came.
After about four days, I asked if my results had returned but it appears they had been misplaced.  But I gave myself a benefit of doubt for about 24 more hours.
Severe symptoms
Around midnight during that week, I experienced breathing challenges and I was coughing continuously.
I got onto WhatsApp and sent consultation texts to a few friends in the medical field. They all advised that I quickly perform a check-up. But I shared the prescription I had been given with one of the doctors, and they advised that I needed to be admitted as early as possible.
In the night, I blacked out for about 40 minutes. When I woke up, I found myself on the floor.  Breathing had become a real problem. In the morning at around 9am, I started making preparations to go to the hospital.
But the situation got worse. My oxygen levels dropped and I found a lot of difficulty in breathing that I blacked out for about an hour.
When I regained consciousness, I thought of very many things, including my son.
I could move and even talk but breathing and coughing were major problems. I was trying to catch breath and the air was choking me. That’s when I knew I was “going.” I informed my family and friends. They sent me a vehicle that took me to Entebbe Grade B Hospital.
Getting a room at the hospital
As I entered the hospital, one medical personnel requested me to go back home and self-isolate, saying I couldn’t manage the congestion there.
But I insisted and was admitted to a ward which was full of soldiers. At my ward, almost 98 per cent of the patients were soldiers. We were only three civilians and we all got good treatment.
I had four oxygen cylinders on standby when I reached the ward. It scared me but also gave me a little hope, that in case I had a challenge, doctors were not going to look for cylinders.
On my first night, a doctor came to check on the patients at around 9pm and discovered that I was not fine. The doctor borrowed some medicine from fellow patients to give me. Around 11pm, my situation worsened.  I was put on oxygen support until morning.
In the morning, my test results and medication were brought and I had tested positive. I was then taken off oxygen and at around 11am, I started treatment.
I had started treatment when I blacked out. It was such a hard moment. There was a time I got injected with strong medicine and felt like I was dying. I don’t know what kind of medicine it was but I got a strong headache and my lungs felt squeezed like a bath sponge.
However, the care there was okay. The medical doctors were caring and they checked on patients frequently.
My ward was right next to the mortuary. Watching bodies being rolled there was just enough psychological torture, I had to inspire my body to adhere to the treatment.
I talked to God all the time. I asked Him to heal me so I could get a chance to go out and talk about this illness. He did!
I was there for about a week and got discharged on June 25 after my results returned negative.
Family support
My nearest family and friends occasionally flocked the hospital but unfortunately they could not be allowed to see me. Nevertheless, they stood with me in prayer. They would call me each and every time comforting me, and they even contributed financially to my medication.
Medicine was expensive. Much I was in a government hospital, there are some drugs that were not there.  When I was getting discharged, the doctors told me that I was very vulnerable. I got ulcers and started spitting blood. Because of that vulnerability, I don’t want to associate with many people yet.
I have not faced any stigma yet, perhaps it will come when I interact physically with my workmates.
I’m well now, but the illness left me nursing injuries on the diaphragm and lungs. The doctors advised that I do some light exercises daily to boost the operation of my lungs.
Advice
To those trying to heal, adhere to the treatment, and follow the advice of the physicians. Be positive in mind knowing that you shall recover. If you have a negative mind-set, it affects your healing process. Covid-19 is healable.
To those who have not contracted the disease, be sure that it’s real. It hurts and is very expensive to treat. Be very careful, jealously guard your health and in case you have any malaria symptoms, besides getting malaria treatment, test for Covid-19. Protect yourself because you never know how you may contract the disease.