Recovered St. Ignatius woman grappled with panic, fear after positive COVID-19 test

When Monica Joseph began experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, she wasn’t sure what to do. Now that she has recovered, however, she is urging others to follow all public health guidelines to protect themselves and others.

Joseph, an accounts clerk attached to the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) Accounts Department of Region Nine, was the first confirmed positive COVID19 case in St Ignatius, an indigenous community located close to Lethem in the Central Rupununi.

In an interview, Joseph disclosed that she developed a dry cough on the eve of July 28th. “I suddenly began coughing after having a normal day. These were dry coughs since no mucus came up my throat. Chest pains then started shortly afterwards. The pains were not too intense, so I thought nothing of it and figured that I was just coming down with the common cold,” she recalled.

However, the following day, she said, while she was at work the pain intensified and it was at that point the thought of being infected with COVID-19 crossed her mind. She stated that she was very scared as it was common knowledge that dry cough and chest pains were symptoms of COVID-19.

“I did not know what do to. I was unsure whether or not to tell [my] boss or to ask someone for advice. Like most people, I wondered whether I was overreacting or imagining my symptoms to be worse than they were. The strange part was that the chest pains disappeared after a few hours and did not return until later than evening,” she said.

Joseph added that her first instinct was to call the region’s Health Team but she was very scared of doing this and did not do so at that time. However, the chest pains returned and she developed a fever and started having difficulty breathing. As a result of this, she added, she told her family members to distance themselves from her.

She noted that although she had these symptoms, she was still very scared to confirm that she was infected with the respiratory disease but a close friend encouraged her to contact the Health Team and she eventually conceded. She noted that her relationships with her friends and family were vital in getting her through that time.

When contacted, the Health Team told Joseph to self-isolate in her room and avoid contact with her relatives as much as possible.

On July 31st, the doctors went to her home and swabbed her. She said she was asked questions about her work environment and about the people she had been in contact with during the past weeks and was then told to stay in her room until she received her results.

Two days later she was informed that she was indeed COVID- 19 positive. “When I received my results, I tried hard not to panic and the health team asked me to keep calm and told me that I was going to be okay. As soon as the call ended, I panicked and began to cry. I was shocked and scared and thought about my family and coworkers. I was in contact with my grandparents and I was scared that I had infected them,” she said.

Additionally, she stated that she is uncertain where she contracted the disease but she believes it was somewhere between her workplace and home. “Even though I took precautions at work, such as sanitising my hands frequently and wearing a mask, I still got infected. This was one of the worst emotional feelings I have ever experienced,” she said.

Joseph spent 21 days in home isolation following the confirmation of her positive results. She said during that time she suffered from fever, shortness of breath, headaches, body pains and dry coughs. She revealed that the nurses provided her with Panadol and vitamins to assist her with her recovery. In addition to the medicine provided, she said she also drank herbal teas made from lemon grass and ginger along with lime and lemon juices. She believed the teas and juices helped a lot with her recovery.

Although persons are saying that being infected with COVID-19 is similar to having a common cold, Joseph said it was much worse. “For me, I would say it was much, much worse,” she said before disclosing that she was even scared to sleep while she was suffering from shortness of breath. “Sometimes I stayed up very late until it [shortness of breath] went away,” she added.

During her time in isolation and when she was not experiencing COVID- 19 symptoms, she was very restless, lonely and wished she could’ve left her room to see her family. “I was very grateful for the internet and for all my friends and family who helped me to cope with my situation. I am also thankful to God, who helped me when I called for his help. We are back to our normal lives and we continue to take precautions and follow the rules,” she said. According to Joseph, she was the only one in her family who was infected with the disease but they all faced a lot of discrimination nonetheless.

“There was a lot of discrimination against my family and I but we faced it together and it was not something that affected us. There were also persons who helped and provided for us because we could not leave our home. I am thankful for Miss Sherry Fredericks from St. Ignatius and her partner Milton who helped us to get all that we needed,” she said before revealing that she was discharged on August 23rd as she was no longer exhibiting symptoms of the disease by that time.

Following her recovery, Joseph said she was very skeptical about going back to work, especially considering that her job includes attending to the public. However, she said, she is doing her best to take all the necessary precautions in order to protect herself and the general public.

Joseph is pleading with persons to continue to observe all the guidelines and preventative measures that have been outlined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry of Health to curb the spread of COVID-19.