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By Shannon Ebrahim 
50 m ago
For those who have convinced themselves that Covid-19 is nothing more than a bad flu, this is a story that will leave you reeling. For all those who think that Covid will not affect them because they are young, healthy and without comorbidities, it is better to think again. Catherine Constantinides’ story will shake you to the core.
Catherine is one of the most beautiful young South African activists this country has produced, her face is recognizable in most corners of this country. It is seen in the places most people choose to ignore, where the oppressed need food and the dispossessed fight for their rights. From the municipality of Gugulethu to the Tindouf refugee camps in Western Sahara, the most iconic images of Catherine have been captured as she lives her truth.
If there was one person I thought would never succumb to this year’s dreaded coronavirus, it was Catherine, as she somehow seemed invincible. So when I touched down with her recently and she told me about the nightmare she had been through for the past five months, I was literally in shock.
“For weeks I was too scared to fall asleep because I couldn’t breathe. The thought of falling into a deep sleep and never waking up terrified me again. There is nothing more terrifying than gasping for air and feeling like your lungs are trapped in cement. The scariest part is that five months after contracting Covid in July, there are days when my lungs still feel locked into concrete and I just can’t get oxygen, “Catherine told me.
Interestingly, in Catherine’s case, she never had flu-like symptoms, no sore throat, no fever, no cough, no loss of taste or smell. What hit her like a tsunami was the agonizing bodily pain, the excruciating compression of her chest, and the indescribable exhaustion that for weeks left her unable to even get out of bed. My own doctor, who contracted Covid around the same time, described the agony as feeling like someone is scraping your body with barbed wire day after day without any respite. He literally described it as torture.
Catherine’s mental anguish is something most of us can never imagine. “There were days that I just don’t remember, and there were days when the physical and emotional pain was almost unbearable. I remember my little one sitting outside my bedroom door crying day after day, begging me to let him see me as he would rather have Covid and then be able to be with me. Isolation for 24 days was the loneliest moment of my life. I had a friend who talked to me throughout the day, every day, and without her and my family, I don’t know how I could have overcome this. “
Catherine lives with her mother, who has comorbidities, so the constant concern that she might transmit the virus to her mother who lives in the same house compounded the emotional stress. Catherine also lives with her mother’s younger sister, who teaches at a nearby school. One day in early July, Catherine’s aunt had come home not knowing that she was a carrier of the coronavirus, which she had contracted from one of the school children. He had no symptoms and was completely unaware that he was passing the virus to his niece at home. This remains the danger of children continuing to attend school in the midst of a raging pandemic, as they often bring the invisible enemy home with them even if they themselves do not become ill.
Catherine recounted how her hair fell out in strands to the point that she could not brush it, and her nails were disfigured. But the worst were the migraines, the stabbing pain that never stopped causing dizziness and fainting. These are some of the long-term symptoms that you have had to overcome after the initial Covid period. They only came out in the weeks after she was actively positive. Catherine says that the Covid residue continues to live in the fluid around her brain, heart and lungs, and doctors simply don’t know enough about the virus to say what kind of long-term side effects it will have.
“Five months later I still have dizziness, blackouts and often can’t even concentrate and avoid my laptop entirely. There are days when writing an email is even too difficult and mornings when I wake up with no energy. The mind tells you that you are able to fill your journal with board meetings and a series of appointments, only for your body to become incapable of doing any of that, and you have to cancel everything, ”Catherine laments.
She feels like she’s finally turned a corner, as there seem to be a few more good days now than bad. During the first four months he was under intensive medication from which he was weaned, as the medicine also had side effects. He is now still taking heart medications as he continues to suffer from heart complications as a result of Covid. Perhaps the biggest victory is that he has started walking again, calmly but pushing his body to fight the constant fatigue. She is determined to get up and introduce herself no matter what her body demands.
“What makes me so angry are those people who are so indifferent to this virus as if it were no big deal. Those who think they can keep meeting people, going to restaurants, meeting indoors and thinking that it will never affect them. Even if they are lucky that it is not, it is very easy for them to take Covid back to their families, their parents and grandparents who could really die. Being liberal in thought is not going to save you from this virus, as Sweden learned the hard way, ”says Catherine.
Sweden gave its citizens the option of isolating themselves by choice and avoided blocking the country when the rest of the world was doing so. People weren’t asked to wear masks in public, and somehow the government and health professionals thought that herd immunity was the answer. But the naivety of the Swedish bureaucracy has shown them wrong in the long run. Last week, Sweden finally imposed a serious blockade, a complete blockade of the country, and even alcohol sales are now being regulated in one of the most liberal countries in the world. Sweden’s peak is now among the worst in the world when compared to its population.
As for the advice Catherine was willing to share, in addition to the obvious wearing of a mask and washing her hands regularly, she recommends boosting her immune system as much as possible during this pandemic. In addition to the obvious zinc, vitamin C, and vitamin D, Catherine strongly believes in black seed oil and honey, as well as fresh oranges and lemons to ensure a healthy immune system.
When I asked her what this virus had taught her, she was unequivocal:
“This virus has given us all the opportunity to pause and reflect on what is important in our lives, and it has given us the opportunity to prioritize the things that really matter. What made me wonder is: if I don’t get tomorrow, what would I do today? ”.
Catherine’s Twitter and Instagram account is @ChangeAgent
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