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Thandeka Moyo Ndlovu, Senior Health Reporter

“NURSING is like deliberately driving through a red robot, it comes with lots of danger but we cannot have it any other way, we are willing to pass through the valley of the shadow of death just to save lives.”

These words were uttered by Matron Sanelisiwe Viki, a double Covid-19 survivor from Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo.

Her first diagnosis came barely five days after she was promoted to become Mpilo’s public relations officer in November 2020.

Up to now she cannot forget the near-death experience she went through.

What started as a minor headache with flu-like symptoms left Matron Viki bed ridden for three days at home before she was ferried to the United Bulawayo Hospitals when her situation deteriorated.

As a member of staff, she was given a side ward which could have been good but it meant she had no one to talk to as visitors were banned during that time.

She vividly remembers counting dead bodies being wheeled away from the isolation ward, a sign that she too could easily become part of the statistics.

For three months she battled the global pandemic without her husband nor sons nearby but only her colleagues she hails as heroines.

“My first experience was the worst.

I spent more than three months without recovery and cannot forget how my son struggled to feed me before I was taken to UBH.

At UBH I could see nurses taking away bodies from the ward I was in while all of us were on oxygen and it dawned that I could easily die there alone, without my husband or my darling two sons,” said Matron Viki.

“Every day at 2AM I would be breathless and feel like the oxygen mask was choking me.

One day I felt like I was going to die and made my last prayer because I was not recovering and other patients were dying in numbers.”

She said in all this, she cannot forget the bravado shown by fellow nurses who stood by her, assuring her that she would recover.

“I saw those nurses literally crossing a red robot, they stood by me seeing I had severe symptoms until I recovered.

I only saw a doctor thrice and the whole time I was with nurses who reminded me that indeed we are unsung heroes who deserve respect and honour every day of our lives.”

Matron Viki eventually recovered in February last year but was again diagnosed this year in April although she didn’t have severe symptoms.

“My Covid-19 experiences taught me a lot and to this date I am no longer afraid of anything.

Last year I nursed my father-in-law who unfortunately succumbed to Covid-19 but I was not worried about getting sick after seeing how other nurses gave it all just to nurse me for three months while I was at UBH,” she said.

“On this day I call on our employer to offer counselling services to nurses.

We are not okay and also reward the sacrifices.

Many of us are yet to receive the insurance which was promised and it sometimes makes us wonder if all these sacrifices are worth it when our efforts are not rewarded.”

Another nurse has a story to tell about her battle with Covid-19.

It was during the peak of the Delta Covid-19 variant when Sister Chipo Simango decided to have her colleagues test her just before finishing her night shift at UBH.

That day, July 7, 2021, 2 264 people had tested positive for Covid-19 in Zimbabwe, one of the highest daily figures to be recorded.

Although she had taken all necessary precautions to avert infection, she discovered that she too had made it to the statistics of those who caught the virus.

She eventually cheated death by a whisker and recovered to share the story on the danger of being in the frontline especially during a crisis like Covid-19.

Yesterday, Sister Simango like Matron Viki joined thousands of nurses to mark Internal Nurses Day, a day observed around the world on 12 May each year, to mark the contributions that nurses make to society.

“As we went about with our duty one of my colleagues suggested we do a routine test amongst ourselves and I tested positive.

I felt like the world had come to an end.

I totally forgot the counselling l had been giving to other clients who had tested positive previously.

All I did was panic,” said Sister Simango.

“The job is risky but since its a calling, quitting is not an option.

I felt like the system had let me down as I was now a danger even to my own family.

I eventually found comfort in remembering that a number of people had recovered which helped me recover faster.”

She said the near-death experience could have easily convinced her to quit but she could not wait to complete her 14 days of isolation so that she could join her colleagues in serving members of the public.

“I am appealing to the relevant authorities to provide health care workers with enough PPE so that we may be protected although this profession has taught me that the greatest protection is from God.

As I celebrate nurses’ day, I would like to salute the heroes and heroines of nursing for standing resolute in performing their duties especially during covid-19,” she said.

“At one time it was only nurses who were reporting to work 100 percent, we put our lives on the line to save others.

May the Lord continue giving us strength to go on and we hope one day our employer will appreciate our sacrifices.”

Sister Simango said from childhood she always wanted to be a nurse.

“I was called to be a nurse since childhood though my late mother always discouraged me saying I was so fragile.

I wanted to prove that I could do it and it’s unfortunate that she is late.

I would have loved to see her marvel at how passionate I am about saving lives,” she said.

Zimbabwe Nurses Association president Mr Enock Dongo said many nurses had contracted and died of Covid-19 since it was first recorded in Zimbabwe.

“As we celebrate International Nurses day, we would like to reflect on the suffering that has been caused by Covid-19.

The nurses have been on the frontline from day one and they have done a tremendous work to save lives,” said Mr Dongo.

“This did not spare them from contracting the disease, we lost some of us.

We still have challenges with PPE even up to date and we hope the Government will consider easing our pressures by providing PPE, thermometers and medication so that as we continue, our stress is lessened.

Our lifestyles are pathetic, we cannot afford to buy food or pay for transport and if we are not catered for mentally, physically and financially, we will not be able to care of the sick.”

– @thamamoe