Covid fighter encourages people to vaccinate
PARKTOWN – The accountant believes that if the story of his ordeal with Covid-19 can convince at least one person to get vaccinated, it might just save a life.
A young accountant from Johannesburg cannot understand how people can refuse to get vaccinated after spending months in a hospital bed and having to learn to walk again.
Mbusi Ndlovu was only 29 years old, went to the gym, had no pre-existing conditions, was a non-smoker and had no lung problems. Yet this time last year he landed in the hospital and now, a year later, he is still battling the virus.
“Vaccination should be our priority. It gives us the opportunity to fight this virus. Covid-19 is real – I know exactly how bad it is. I am proof that it can also kill young people,” he said.
Dr Paul Williams, a Netcare Milpark Hospital-based critical care specialist and pulmonologist, whose team was responsible for Ndlovu’s care, said the young accountant was extremely ill. “He had Covid-19 as bad as we’ve seen in anyone who survived. We thought he may have to be considered for a lung transplant. He still had to be on a ventilator for about three weeks after having three months of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) treatment.”
But according to him, Ndlovu has made a remarkable recovery. He credits Ndlovu’s positive outlook on life in general ‘which made it much easier to look after him’. Williams said they suspected that Mbusi had the Delta variant of the virus, which could explain the severity of his illness.
According to Ndlovu, his ordeal with Covid-19 has become the worst experience of his life. After being diagnosed with Covid-19 on December 11 2020, Ndlovu experienced various symptoms associated with the virus. These includes difficulty in breathing, sweating, being taken to intensive care and put on ECMO.
Eventually, he managed to stand and later started walking again. His rehabilitation was a slow process with occupational therapy, speech therapy and physiotherapy. After being discharged in April, he still had to go to rehabilitation to work on his severely diminished lung capacity. “It’s been quite a journey. I’m much better now. I have made significant progress and things look good. I still have to see an occupational therapist every two weeks, but the greatest blessing is that I’m alive. I’ve lost so much weight and muscle. It was unbelievable to find myself in that state.”
Now vaccinated, Ndlovu said he would forever be grateful to the team at Netcare Milpark Hospital whom he believed saved his life.
“I would like to thank everyone who was part of this journey with me. From the entire Netcare team to my whole family, friends, colleagues, church members – everyone who was there to support me throughout this difficult journey. Thank you very much for allowing me to share my story – I hope it saves someone’s life,” concluded Ndlovu.
Details: Netcare hospitals services enquires customer.service@netcare.co.za
ALSO READ:
https://www.citizen.co.za/rosebank-killarney-gazette/own-your-life/nicd-confirms-omicron-infections-are-less-severe-than-delta-variant/
