I thank God I’m alive, PS Hamadi Boga says

State Department for Agricultural Research Principal Secretary Prof Hamadi Boga is one of the senior government officials who have contracted Covid-19.

After 32 days of harrowing experience, Prof Boga took to social media to tell the world of his ordeal. “Here I am, still alive. I am doing okay, largely. I have finished self-isolating at home since I first experienced Covid-19 symptoms. I did the retest for Covid-19 and thank God it came out negative,” Prof Boga posted on his Facebook page.

He said the test procedure looked scarier than it really felt. “For me the nose swab was easier than the throat swab. The technician who took my swab said the throat swab is the riskier one even for the one swabbing. One could easily throw up,” the PS said.

He said it all began with severe chills “that went all the way to the bone marrow”, muscle aches at the calves, thighs and arms.

“It was July but these chills were way deeper than the usual July experience. Then the cough that was not productive persisted and a tightness or numbness around the chest, the back and at the front. I had no flu. Just these unending coughs,” he explained.

Temperature checks

Prof Boga said the experience was scary, especially the nausea and intense urge to throw up every time he coughed.

However, he did not get any headaches and fever as all temperature checks at entrances to key buildings recorded 35 to 36.5 degrees.  “Only once did I have a low-grade fever of 37.5 degrees when tested at the hospital. I could not smell anything. Nothing. Not food. Not perfume. Nothing. The taste buds went out of the window.  It felt like I was eating grass,” he said.

His voice got hoarse and he was even breathless just from speaking in a Zoom meeting.

After four days he decided to go for the test at the Nairobi Hospital. “Sampling took five minutes but administrative processes to pay the Sh10,000 fee took two hours,”  Prof Boga said.

He decried the fact that the cost of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test is way beyond the reach of many Kenyans.

“Most people who have the symptoms just avoid hospital, hoping to wait things out. Others go into hiding. However, this disease can kill if you are in hiding and you are not one of the lucky asymptomatic patients,” he said.

Self-isolate

Some 48 hours after the test, his results came via a phone call. “You are Covid-19 positive. Self-isolate for 14 days. Separate yourself from your family. Let the family come for testing tomorrow,” the caller said.

Luckily, the results for his family members came out negative.

The PS was in self isolation for about five days until he started struggling with a cough.  “I decided to use private means to get to an isolation centre. My blood pressure was high. I had a low grade fever,” he said.

While in isolation, he regular sipped his dawa (ginger, lemon and honey concoction), took some paracetamol every eight hours, a cough syrup, an antihistamine tablet daily and vitamin C tabs. “This is all I was given at the isolation centre. It was not for treatment but for managing the symptoms. Most of these items can be obtained over the counter at low cost,” he said.

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