“I got a second chance to live and I am grateful for it,” said Ivuoma Tom, a registered nurse and COVID-19 survivor, as she recounted her experience.Ivuoma works with a private hospital in Benin State. As a health worker aware of the high risk her profession poses in exposing her to the coronavirus, Ivuoma read up relevant information about the virus and even took a course online to better equipped herself. However, nothing prepared her for the two weeks she spent battling COVID-19 at the Infectious Disease Hospital inYaba, Lagos State.“Although the hospital where I work did the best that they could to ensure our safety, I was exposed to the virus when I came into contact with a patient who we didn’t know had been exposed. My colleague and I went into self-isolation for fourteen days after the exposure. My test result came out within the period and I tested positive for COVID-19. I thought everything was alright because I was asymptomatic, but on the sixteenth day, this deadly disease got a hold of me,” Ivuoma winced, as she recalled her traumatic experience.“The sixteenth day after exposure, I started having difficulty breathing. I called NCDC, they came to pick me up and took me to the isolation centre in Lekki, Lagos. That night was horrible. I was wheezing like somebody who has asthma and at some point, I could not talk. I was so scared. Luckily, an oxygen cylinder was brought in and I was able to breathe through it before I was transferred to the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba. I stayed on oxygen for five days. Those five days were days of restlessness, sorrow and depression.”“I am very fortunate to have a strong support system. My fiancé, my sister and her husband were strongly there for me,” Ivuoma said."On the third day of being on oxygen, I sent a message to my fiancé. I told him I didn't know if I was going to make it and whatever happens, he should stay strong. He called me immediately and told me I was not going anywhere. He played a vital role in ensuring that I was transferred to Infectious Disease Hospital for proper management.”“I am not a careless person, yet I contracted the virus. COVID-19 has taught me to be much more careful in observing all precautions, such as handwashing, wearing a facemask and keeping physical distance. Now I hardly go out except to work. I feel really bad whenever I see someone who still thinks coronavirus is a scam in Nigeria.”Many people still deny the existence of COVID-19, and many Nigerians go about their business every day without putting on a facemask or maintaining physical distance. After surviving the disease, Ivuoma now advocates even more strongly for people to protect themselves from the coronavirus.“I believe the coronavirus will one day be a thing of the past, but it lies in all of our hands to make that happen. Please stay safe and let's save the world.”
