Young Covid patient recovers from coma after 81 days in East London hospital

A Covid-19 patient from Middledrift, who spent 81 days in Life East London Private Hospital, of which 62 were on a ventilator, believes hope kept her alive.

Pakama Yoyo, 33, a mother of two children, held a library attendant job at Fort Cox College before she fell ill with Covid-19 complications and had to be admitted to hospital on December 12.

She spent four days in the general ward before she began experiencing breathing complications and had to be admitted to ICU.

Yoyo became “hypoxic”,  a condition resulting from a lack of oxygen, and non-invasive mechanical ventilation was required to help her to breathe.

She then suffered further setbacks, including having to be fully ventilated and, after signs of septicaemia emerged, had to have a tracheotomy.

It took several trials to wean her off ventilation, finally resulting in success on February 11.

With the assistance of physiotherapy, Yoyo was able to leave her bed and started to regain her strength, and returned to the general ward before being discharged from hospital on March 2.

Yoyo said on Friday she had still not fully recovered and was still coming to terms with how she had survived Covid-19.

“Anyone who has tested positive for Covid-19 should not lose hope because it kept me alive.

“Remain strong and tell yourself that you are going to fight this illness and recover,” said Yoyo.

“I want to thank the hospital for caring for me — it felt like I was the only patient that they had to look after while I was there.

“I really appreciate the work that they have done to help me get better,” she said.

Yoyo recalled how she began to lose her strength on the third day after being admitted to hospital.

“I couldn’t do anything, and the only thing I remember was when I woke up this year and a nurse asked me if I knew where I was and when I had arrived [at hospital].

“I did not know that I was waking up from a coma.

“She had to explain to me that we were now in 2021 and I had been in a coma for a long time after I had trouble breathing.

“I was in ICU and a breathing device had to be inserted in my chest to help me breathe.

“I had to process all of that.”

She also could not talk after the coma, and people had to lip-read to understand what she was saying.

“I had a really slow recovery but I’m regaining my strength every day and the only thing I was thinking about was my children.

“It wasn’t easy but it was the grace of God, with the help of the staff at the hospital, that I managed to live through this.

“And I want to urge people to take the Covid-19 safety measures seriously, even though we are in a lower lockdown level.

“Do everything you can to keep yourself and your family’s risk of infection low.

“Fighting the virus and recovering from it is not anything I would wish on my family and friends.

“If you do test positive just make sure you don’t lose hope because many people have a fear of dying, and they panic once they get sick,” said Yoyo.

The care of a patient suffering from Covid-19 symptoms requires the dedication and team effort of numerous specialities including nurses, physicians, surgeons and allied professionals including physiotherapists to mobilise the patient, and social workers to communicate and counsel the patient’s family.

Two physicians who managed Yoyo’s health in ICU, along with the multidisciplinary team, were Dr Tim Brain and Dr Nthuthuzelo Lufundo.

“It was gratifying to see a patient who had struggled for so long recover and go home.

“Ultimately, our multidisciplinary team aims to care for our patients and give them the best chance of recovery that we can.

“When our efforts are successful, it is an immense triumph for us all — especially during these times,” said Brain.

DispatchLIVE