Tygerberg hospital doctor tells of his painful Covid-19 recovery

Dr Gideon Titus

Dr Gideon Titus

Published Jul 1, 2020

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Cape Town - “It's good to be back with my colleagues. I enjoy the camaraderie and the positive energy within our team.”

So said Dr Gideon Titus, an internal medicine registrar at Tygerberg Hospital, who returned to work after recovering from Covid-19.

Titus, from Backenfell, had a fever and severe muscle pain.

“The muscle pain made it difficult for me to move around. Fortunately, I didn't have any respiratory symptoms,” he said.

“Working every day with patients with severe Covid-19, I know how life-threatening the symptoms can be. Rationally, while I know I'm young and don't have any comorbidities, the fear of severe symptoms was still heavy on my mind. 

"Thankfully, my symptoms started improving around day eight,” he said, thanking his wife who supported him.

Titus said it was encouraging to see people being discharged after making recoveries.

“The hospital management has closed the outpatient department which takes care of patients with chronic conditions, so health-care staff have more time to care for acutely ill patients. 

“They have also allowed doctors from other departments (such as radiology or ophthalmology) to join the internal medicine staff."

Cape Times

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