A Durbanville couple holidaying in the Lowveld never dreamt their visit would turn into a fight for survival, with one of them ending up in hospital for three months.
Magda de Leeuw (65) spent 109 days in Mediclinic Nelspruit, battling Covid-19.
She and her husband, Anton, had left home in July to go caravanning in Swadini and Marloth Park.
Magda started showing Covid-19 symptoms soon after their departure. She was admitted to hospital on August 1.
During her long stay in hospital, Anton stayed nearby, at Chimp Eden, to be close to Magda. “That was all I needed,” he says.
Magda says that she put her faith in the Lord, and was blessed to have Anton with her every day. “I think he wore out the caravan floor, praying.”
Joyful songs and cheers from the staff sounded out when Magda was finally discharged from hospital on November 17. Now a long road to recovery awaits her at M-Care, a Nelspruit hospital that offers rehabilitation care.
She is grateful for the wonderful care she received at Mediclinic. “I do not know if it would have gone as well, had I been in another place. The treatment, everyone’s attitude – it all made a big difference and helped me stay calm and collected.”
When they started feeling ill during their trip, Anton thought it wise for them to be tested. The De Leeuws had both had their first Covid-19 vaccines, and were to receive their second jabs at a later stage.
Both tested positive, but fortunately, Anton’s symptoms were mild.
It was tough going for him, stranded in a city far from home and with his wife critically ill for so long. “But as I always say, she looked after me for 45 years, so I can look after her for a couple of years.”
Magda spent 101 of the 109 days in intensive care, and had to celebrate her birthday on September 9 in hospital, too. She remembers little of the day, recalling only that she received a balloon.
A memory fresh in her mind is the first drops of water she was able to drink. “My word, it was like manna from heaven. It was so good!”
Magda will stay at M-Care until December 15, by when it is hoped that she be well enough to travel back home, just in time for Christmas. “Our poor sausage dog will probably not even recognise us when we get home!”
To anyone having to undergo the same journey, Magda has this message: “Trust in God. God is good.”
