Nolusindiso Dayile left Tygerberg Hospital last Tuesday after a 44-day battle with Covid-19.
The 43-year-old paramedic from Khayelitsha was in ICU for 23 days.
According to hospital spokeswoman Laticia Pienaar, Ms Dayile was admitted after experiencing flu-like symptoms and shortness of breath. Her condition deteriorated
over the next five days, and she was admitted to the ICU for high-flow oxygen
therapy.
For nine days, she clung to life, breathing through a
tube attached to a ventilator, before her condition finally stabilised.
“I’m very grateful for the excellent care I have
received in ICU and in the wards, and for the staff who went the extra mile,
and for their encouragement and support,” Ms Dayile said.
Dr Saadiq Moolla, one of the doctors who treated Ms Dayile, said the most
rewarding part of looking after patients like her was seeing their
faces light up when they were well enough to go home.
While the Covid-19 case load in the province had dropped, he said it was more important than ever to follow the five golden rules of Covid-19 prevention: wash hands with soap for 20 seconds and then rinse, keep
1.5m apart, stay home if unwell, cough or sneeze into your elbow or a tissue, and do not touch your face with unwashed hands.
As at Monday August 17,
South Africa had 11 839 Covid-19 deaths, 3 573 of these were in the Western Cape,
with a total of 587 345 cases countrywide.