A week ago, Pauline Njoroge, a communication specialist developed a cough and chest tightening but it never hit her that she could be ailing from coronavirus.
It passed off as flu, albeit a strong one but hoped it would go away but this was not to happen.
On Monday Njoroge who was at the heart of communications for the defunct TNA party in the 2013 polls narrated her harrowing ordeal with the third wave of Covid-19.
“On Monday (1st March) afternoon, I started coughing and could feel my chest tightening. I mentioned to a friend that I needed to get my inhaler from the car. But the feeling didn’t last long so I continued with the assignment we were undertaking,” she recalls.
In the evening, the cough and chest tightness became persistent and by the time she got home, all she felt was a deep feeling of being drained.
On Tuesday, she was weak with joint and backaches which extended to her eyes and head.
“I could barely sleep that night because of pain and heat. On Wednesday I woke up before the alarm went off. I was quite weak and the dizziness was intense. I could barely stand for a moment without feeling like I was going to faint the next minute. I went to the hospital where they did a blood test to check for bacteria infection etc and later gave me the normal stuff for flu.
“The pain reduced but the body remained weak. On Friday, I really struggled with the International Women’s Day shoot (the video I shared earlier today). By the time I was done with a few minutes of recording, I was so drained and I went back to bed,” she narrated.
On Saturday, she got worse and went back to the hospital. She took a Covid-19 test which turned positive.
Njoroge now advises Kenyans to shun reports that Covid-19’s third wave is a lie.
She warned Kenyans against laxity in upholding measures set by the government such as social distancing, wearing of facemasks and observing strict hand hygiene.
While there is no full-proof protection against Covid-19, Njoroge calls upon Kenyans to be more cautious.
“For sure, there is no way of protecting oneself 100% but lately we have been quite relaxed and keeping social distance has become a thing of the past. But friends, let us try our best to protect ourselves and our loved ones. And if you experience some symptoms, isolate yourself so that you do not infect those close to you until you confirm that you are not infected,” she advises.
The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country are 109,164 with 1,879 deaths recorded as of Monday, March 8, 2020.
