Support vital in Covid-19 battle
‘Stay close to God and remain positive’
MARRIED couple Mlandeli and Nomfundo Jantjies have experienced a tough few months after the wife’s mother died from coronavirus and less than a month later her husband contracted it.
The Knysna couple’s difficult coronavirus journey started in July when Nomfundo’s 81-year-old mother started feeling sick.
“We rushed from Knysna back home to Uitenhage and sent her straight to the doctor. They said she had dementia.
“She was injected twice and we saw that she could still stand up and my mother was a strong person,” she said.
Unfortunately, Nomfundo’s mother died at the hospital on July 11 and was laid to rest on July 18.
Nomfundo said she and Mlandeli returned to Knysna on July 25 but neither of them had developed any symptoms.
On August 5, Mlandeli started to develop symptoms such as a fever, a sore throat and body pains and was tested for coronavirus on the same day.
The following day it was confirmed that he had Covid-19.
“While I was at home I could feel that I didn’t have strength and had shortness of breath. I saw that my condition wasn’t good and told my wife to call an ambulance,” he told Independent Media last week.
On the fifth day of 10 days of self-isolation, Mlandeli’s condition
took a turn for the worse and he was admitted to Knysna Hospital the following day.
Mlandeli said he had to rely on oxygen tanks to breath for the three days of his stay at the hospital and had to take about eight different pills every morning and two in the evening.
During his stay at the hospital, he was told he was diabetic and had to start taking treatment.
By August 14, Mlandeli was able to breathe with the oxygen and sleep through the night. However, a tight chest and shortness of breath persisted.
He remained in hospital for a further 12 days and was discharged on August 27. The couple advised other coronavirus patients to keep a strong support structure and to stay close to God.
“Positivity is very, very important and above all it helps to hold on to what you believe in,” Nomfundo said.