– says survivor, urges everyone to get vaccinated

NISA Walker, 58, couldn’t be happier and more thankful that she survived COVID-19, an experience that made her afraid even to sleep for fear that she would die. She was so weak, she couldn’t even lift her head from a pillow or chew the food in her mouth. Now, she puts her heart and soul into encouraging others to get vaccinated.
Initially, she had no alarming symptoms to indicate that she was COVID positive; all she remembers is that she wasn’t feeling her usual energetic self. Her energy level was low and she felt listless. All she wanted to do was to lie down and not be bothered to do anything.

After three days of this though, she knew that something was definitely up when she started having some trouble breathing. Subsequently testing positive for the virus, Walker was sent to the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Infectious Disease Hospital at Liliendaal after doctors found that she had an underlying condition and that her oxygen level was dropping.
“I went there later that night; it was frightening…It felt like such a nightmare to be going in there all alone,” she reflected in an interview with Pepperpot Magazine.
Walker, owner of the popular Oasis Café in Georgetown, had never experienced sickness or any hardship close to the one that suddenly sprang upon her. So when she realised that she would have to be in that hospital alone without the support of her family and friends, she knew that she was in for a harrowing experience.
“I remember the doctor telling me the next morning I needed to be there for 14 days. I started wailing and screaming and begging. I held on to his coat and begged him to send me home. I never begged so shamelessly in my life,” she recalled.

Having satisfied the doctors that she had the conveniences to self-isolate and to be cared for at home, she was allowed to leave. Although Walker was thrilled by the outpouring of support she received virtually from friends and family, it was still a very lonely time for her.
“I doubted myself a lot and wondered if I made the right decision to come home. I kept feeling guilty for surviving when so many people were dying… I told myself maybe I wasn’t careful enough, but I know I was. I took all of the precautions and did all of the right things. I wondered why me and why to this extent,” she recalled.
At home, Walker couldn’t stop crying. She felt a constant fear that she would die. “I was too weak to lift my head from a pillow, lift my arm, and eat. I would have the food in my mouth and couldn’t chew, because I was so weak. I was afraid to shut my eyes at night because I wasn’t sure I was going to wake up the next day,” she said.

Take your shots
Walker said that she received her first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine in March before becoming infected, and she believes that it was this first dose that helped to save her life. “Nothing means anything if you don’t have your good health. And I beg people to take their shots, get vaccinated. Adopt a better, healthier lifestyle. Eat better. Take your vitamins,” she urged.
One practical suggestion she made was for persons to keep extra masks on them so that if they have to be in contact with someone not wearing a mask, they can offer to give them one. “Stay home and be extra cautious. Only leave home if you have to,” she further encouraged.

“It’s not a joke. It can hit anyone at any time. It’s really a beast and it doesn’t discriminate. I was a careful person and yet I got it; so if you’re carefree, your chances of getting it are even higher. To the set of people going around saying it’s not real and it’s a hoax and don’t want to take the vaccine, it’s stupid,” Walker expressed, noting that she would also like to see the stigma erased from people who no longer test positive.

Life is too short
COVID-19 has taught Walker a few lessons and has reinforced many others. Top among them, she said, is to love the people around you and know and focus on who’s important. “Don’t judge other people, take life one day at a time; enjoy your life, your family. Tell people how you feel. Don’t hold back on anything. Life is too short.”
Furthermore, she noted that material things mean nothing. “If your life can be snatched away from you so quickly, why fight and struggle over other things? Why beat yourself up over things you have no control over?”

The experience has also turned her into a more careful person. “I am miss social butterfly; I like to socialise because I am a people’s person, but I don’t think I will be that person to be present at every occasion anymore. I’ll pick and choose and be extra careful.”
Walker has been getting stronger and stronger as she continues to do mindful, slow, deep breathing. “I practise the pranayama every day; Kapalabhati, and I try to do at least 1,000 to 1,500 every day. That’s been really helpful,” she said.