I fought a good fight, says Stephen Opuka on beating Covid-19

Mr Stephen Haggai Opuka, the 54-year-old cleaner who was infected with coronavirus while on duty at Mbagathi Hospital two weeks ago, was discharged from hospital last evening after two tests in the last four days showed he was no longer infected.
However, he will remain in self-quarantine for another two weeks to minimise the risk of reinfection, and also to ensure he’s completely healed before he is allowed to mix with the public.
CONFINEMENT
His healing was among five others in the 24 hours to Tuesday afternoon, which brought the total number of those who have successfully fought off the virus to 74.
His healing was among five others in the 24 hours to Tuesday afternoon, which brought the total number of those who have successfully fought off the virus to 74.
In an interview with the Nation on Tuesday evening, Mr Opuka said he was elated to be going home after staying in solitary confinement for close to two weeks.
“This is such great news to me,” he said. “I first tested negative from a sample the medics took from me on Saturday, so when they came for a second and final sample on Monday, I told them I hoped it would turn negative too. One of the patients has been confined here for close to two months, yet I’m going home after less than a month.”
For the close to two weeks he was admitted to the infectious diseases units at Mbagathi and Kenyatta National Hospital, he said, he had been on a daily dose of multivitamins to boost his immunity.
He was also given sleeping pills every evening to ward off stress-induced insomnia. Because there is no cure for the virus, patients in Kenyan hospitals are being put on case management regimens, which include treatment of symptoms associated with the infection, such as fever, coughing, or body aches.
SAME PATTERN
Patients’ immune response to Sars-CoV-2 infection, including the duration of immunity, if any, is yet to be understood, although patients with Middle East respiratory syndrome, or Mers-CoV, which belongs to the same virus family as coronavirus, are unlikely to be reinfected shortly after they recover.
Patients’ immune response to Sars-CoV-2 infection, including the duration of immunity, if any, is yet to be understood, although patients with Middle East respiratory syndrome, or Mers-CoV, which belongs to the same virus family as coronavirus, are unlikely to be reinfected shortly after they recover.
It’s not yet known, however, if patients who recover from Covid-19 will follow the same pattern, hence the need to keep Mr Opuka, and any other patient discharged from Kenya’s numerous isolation centres, in self-quarantine for 14 days.
When we first spoke to Mr Opuka last Friday, he was confined to a tiny room at Kenyatta National Hospital, and access to him was restricted to doctors and nurses with protective gear. To get close to him, we were required to wear heavy protective equipment, including a hazmat suit, airtight goggles, gloves, medical N95 masks, and heavy boots.
Still, we were not allowed to get anywhere near him or touch anything inside his cubicle. The medics also instructed us to immediately remove our gloves after meeting him and put on a fresh pair before proceeding to see other patients, where the ritual was repeated over and over again.
INANIMATE OBJECT
Mr Opuka said he was glad that the phase of his life during which he felt like a hazardous, inanimate object, was over.
He will spend the next two weeks inside his small room in Nairobi, catching up with his family in Butere on phone because of current disease containment measures that ban movement into and out of the capital.
At his age of 54, he had fears that the infection would weigh him down as, based on currently available information and clinical expertise, older adults and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions are at a higher risk of severe illness from Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Mr Opuka’s family plans to hold a grand party for their son when he visits home. When the Nation team visited the family at Ebukhokoro village in Kakamega County, we met delighted faces of Mr Opuka’s wife, two brothers, mother, village elder and neighbours gathered at the home chatting jovially after news of his negative test was broken to them.
Mrs Miriam Asiko Opuka, his wife, said she has spent 13 nights praying without catching sleep.
His younger brother, Pastor Charles Opuka, had also gone into fasting for the last seven days, wishing his brother quick recovery from the deadly disease.
“When my husband broke the sad news that he had been put under quarantine on April 7, I became weak and the phone dropped from my hand even before he finished giving me all the details. I have never managed to sleep since then. I was also unable to eat,” said Mrs Asiko.
GRATEFUL TO GOD
“I’m so grateful to God and thankful to the media because they have been informing us about coronavirus, and they even visited my husband in the quarantine centre and assisted him with his needs,” she added.
GRATEFUL TO GOD
“I’m so grateful to God and thankful to the media because they have been informing us about coronavirus, and they even visited my husband in the quarantine centre and assisted him with his needs,” she added.
Mr Opuka’s brother said: “I thank God for answering my prayers.”
He said the family is planning to hold a grand celebration on the day Mr Opuka comes home from the city. “We shall slaughter goats and chicken to celebrate and thank God for His favours,” Pastor Opuka said.
But his mother, Ms Emily Wamakomere, said she’s still keeping her fingers crossed. “I’m so worried and waiting for the next 14 days before I can regain my confidence,” she said.




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