Cape Town – There was elation at the Groote Schuur Hospital’s intensive-care unit (ICU) this week as five critical Covid-19 patients were moved to normal wards after they were treated on the high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) machines.
The HFNO machine is a device which delivers concentrated oxygen to a patient's lungs, via long tubes which sit just below the patient's nostrils.
This decreases the work of breathing and makes sure that the body gets enough oxygen even though there is lung inflammation.
Shahied Fischer, 56, from Hanover Park, was the first of the five patients to come off the HFNO machine.
“When I came into Groote Schuur Hospital on Monday (June 29) I could not breathe, I thought this was the end, I was not going to make it. But this hospital is awesome, the staff have helped me to fight this battle and live again.
"Covid-19 has helped me appreciate essential workers and the difference they are making to help us patients survive,” he said.
Dr Shrikant Peters, the medical manager in the ICU, and Dr Laurene Booyens, medical manager for medicine, jointly said: “Over a period of three months, around a third of patients recover without requiring intubation, which is a significantly positive outcome compared to settings where no high-flow nasal oxygen treatment is offered, obviously not all patients require this modality.
"Most do not require such high volumes and concentrations of oxygen. The results are continuously reassessed as time progresses and our insight into Covid-19 management grows further.”
Patients at Ye Old Thatch, an isolation and quarantine facility in Beaufort West, also shared their stories of their roads to recovery.
Cornelius Elbrink, 42, said he was concerned for his family’s health and decided to isolate.
“I was initially the only person but soon more arrived. I really enjoyed it here. One day I would like to bring my family here for a holiday.”
Asanda Mdwara, 35, and Yolandi Stalmeester, 32, are a couple from Laingsburg.
“We were happy to come here, especially after stigmatisation in our community,” they said.