Thebe Ikalafeng: “Fighting COVID-19 was not an easy battle”
Carol Ofori chats to Thebe Ikalafeng about his journey with the coronavirus.
Thebe Ikalafeng, founder and principal at Africa Brand Leadership Academy, recently recovered from COVID-19. Over the past few weeks, Carol Ofori has been speaking to influential personalities about their experience with the virus and Ikalafeng admits that his journey started with a simple cough.
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Ikalafeng, who has also been named as one of the 100 most influential Africans by New African Magazine, posted an image on his Instagram showing the grim reality that so many have faced while battling the virus.
Detailing his experience, Ikalafeng tells Carol: “I was sitting with two doctor friends of mine, and I had this cough that wouldn’t go away, and I told them ‘I think I have COVID’. Coincidentally, I received a notification from the app that warned me that I had been exposed to someone with COVID five days earlier.”
As the symptoms worsened, Ikalafeng opted to get tested. He went for a test on Christmas Eve and admitted that his results came through two hours later.
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After warning those he had seen over the past few days that he had been infected with the virus, Ikalafeng tells Carol that the symptoms got worse and worse. “By the tenth day, I wasn’t getting better. I was tired, and I just wanted to sleep.” After checking his oxygen levels, Ikalafeng admits it kept dropping with each test. Because of the rapid speed his oxygen levels were dropping, Ikalafeng was rushed to hospital where he stayed for a week.
Once Ikalafeng did start to recover, he says his recovery process was relatively quick and that the hospital staff did an incredible job keeping his spirits up.
If there is one thing that Ikalafeng has learned from this experience, it is important to get tested as soon as you think you may have contracted the virus to monitor your symptoms and take quick action. “Don’t wait to see how fast you are deteriorating,” he explains.
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Main image courtesy of Instagram