Mr Musa Ebomhiana, the Chief Press Secretary to Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, is one of the survivors of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While other survivors have kept sealed lips about the virus, Ebomhiana shared his experience at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital isolation centre, including how his friends treated him.
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The 60-year-old man said he was almost treated like a leper by friends when they got to know that he just returned from the isolation centre, after his interview with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
He said that apart from his wife and son, his friends and relatives didn’t know he contracted COVID-19 and was at the isolation centre.
“My friends and relatives only knew I contracted COVID-19 after I was discharged from the isolation centre after nine days of treatment,’’ he said.
He described his experience as very traumatic, saying he would not pray for his enemy to go through it.
“It all started like fever, so I started treating it like that, but when there was no sign of improvement after several doses of malaria drugs, the representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Edo, Mrs Faith Oriye, advised that I go for COVID-19 test.
This happened after about 10 days when I had exhausted two packets of Amanten, three doses of injection for three days without any improvement,’’ he said.
He said that as the chief press secretary to the deputy governor of Edo State, he advised people on COVID-19, but it never occurred to him that he could contract the virus.
“After my blood sample was taken, the result was supposed to be out in three days, but it took another six days before it came out; and behold, it was positive.
The next day, a team of medical personnel came to my house to see if I could self-isolate or go to isolation centre, but I opted for the isolation centre,’’ he explained.
He said he didn’t want to self-isolate because of his family despite living in a three-bedroom bungalow without neighbours.
“It was after I came back from the isolation centre and granted an interview with the NTA that people got to know that I had coronavirus.
“I kept it to myself because I didn’t want them to panic.
I contracted it in May when COVID-19 deaths overwhelmed the world and Nigeria,’’ he also said.
Ebomhiana further told our correspondent that when somebody died at the centre, fear gripped all of the patients there, adding, “We feared that the same fate could befall us.
“I was lucky to come back from the land of the dead.
“My case was very peculiar because of my age.
“Before I was taken to the hospital, my tongue had already turned black and doctors said it was due to lack of oxygen in my system, and that I would have died if I had stayed three to four days longer before going to the isolation centre.
He said, “Before I was moved to the isolation centre, I could not eat because food was nauseating.
“If they were cooking in the kitchen and I was in the parlour, I would feel like throwing up. It was that bad.
“When I got to the isolation centre they rushed me with all manner of drugs, but there were no injection and syrup.
“I took between 15, 18 and 20 tablets daily.
“When you are getting better they will reduce it to about 10 tablets per dosage, and it is administered morning and night.
“For the nine days I spent at the isolation centre I was bombarded with drugs.
“On my first day at the centre I couldn’t eat anything because I had lost appetite on everything.
“It was the second day that I managed to eat.
“We were fed with rice, beans, semovita, bread and egg, tea, among others – morning, afternoon and night.
“We were well fed and taken care of by the government.
“The nurses and doctors were friendly, but no matter the treatment, you will still miss your family members and friends.
“At the isolation centre there is loneliness because you are all alone.
“Even when your relatives visit, they can only talk to you through the window if you are lucky to have one that is easily accessible.
“That is the most painful aspect of COVID-19.”
He said: “It is as if you were in exile. You can see them far away and they talk to you, but you may not even hear what they are saying.
“That loneliness is the worst of it all at the isolation centre.
“You have electricity, air conditioner, good bed, good food, but there’s nobody to talk to.
“For the nine days, I was in the world of my own, without family or friends.
“When a patient who shared the same ward with me died, fear entered me.
“No matter how strong you are, it must create fear in you, that the same fate may befall you.
“The luck I had was that I went to the centre early, unlike the one that died.
“For nine days I didn’t see the sun, moon or sky. So when I was discharged I was like a bird released from the cage for the first time in many years.
“Friends were scared of me when I came back.
“The way we usually talked or whispered to me was no long there. They would not come near me.
“You would be treated as if you were a leper. Imagine that someone you usually hugged and whispered to would be running away from you.
“They didn’t tell it to my face but their behaviours said it all because I know how we were relating before I contracted COVID-19.
“Some even asked why I granted interview and let people know that I contracted COVID-19.
“But I told them I had to tell the story so that people would know that it is not a death sentence.
“I am an ambassador of COVID-19. I spent my birthday on May 24 in an isolation centre.
“Friends called me on that day, singing birthday songs to me, not knowing that I was fighting for my life.
“It was after my interview that they got to know what happened.’’
He called on other survivors to speak up, saying that keeping it to oneself is dangerous and not helping the society and government.
He, however, noted that people were not willing to talk because of stigmatisation.
