Belinda Richards, a staff nurse in the
Emergency Centre at Hermanus Hospital, is the first person from the Overberg to
be nominated by Premier Alan Winde as a Coronavirus Hero.
Richards and her team are
experiencing increased pressure in the Emergency Centre due to the pandemic.
The Coronavirus Hero campaign seeks to highlight healthcare workers and support
staff’s achievements, abilities, personal qualities, or victories during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Nurse Belinda Richards is a role model and Covid-19
survivor.
“When I tested positive for Covid-19, I started
thinking about where I could have contracted the virus. It could have been at
the shop or when I accompanied a patient to the Covid-19 ward. I could have
contracted the virus anywhere,” says Richards.
She tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday 2 July
2020 after experiencing common flu symptoms. At first Richards thought she was
only coming down with a flu as she experienced a sore throat and runny nose,
which is common during the cold and flu season. However, when her fever started
spiking, she lost her sense of taste and smell, and she had difficulty
breathing, she realised she should be tested for Covid-19. She was then tested
at Hermanus Hospital.
As Richards decided to isolate at home, they had to
make a few changes to create a separate space for her to isolate safely. She
has 12-year-old twin boys and shares a house with her family. Her parents in
law stay in a granny flat on the same property.
“My husband experienced similar symptoms but was not
tested for Covid-19 due to the changed testing criteria at the private
pathologists,” she says. Her parents in law who met the testing criteria tested
negative. With their children showing no symptoms, they decided it would be
best for their children to stay in the granny flat with their grandparents so
that Richards and her husband could isolate themselves.
Isolating was more challenging than Richards expected
it to be. “I thought it would be easy to isolate as I am an introvert, but I
experienced cabin fever and started to feel a little depressed. Mentally,
Covid-19 can be challenging. I saw and spoke to my family through the window.
My sons are not the touchy-feely type so it was not that difficult for
them.”
Richards adds that she was not used to being dependant
on her family and it was difficult to be dependent on them for assistance with
grocery shopping and cooking. “My mother brought me some groceries and left it
at the gate and my mother in law cooked for us and left it outside the front
door.”
As Richards is used to being busy and getting things
done in the Emergency Centre, she found it difficult to rest and wanted to
catch up on house work as she felt she was not seriously ill. However, each
time she started to work, she felt short of breath and needed to rest. This
then gave her an opportunity to catch up on all the TV programmes she has
missed out on. About a week after she tested positive, she gradually started to
feel better, but her sense of taste only returned three weeks later.
Although her husband was not tested for Covid-19, she
could see her husband was ill and says both she and her husband had a grey
colour to their skin. “My children were our main motivation to get
healthy. My family support from work and my growing faith got me through this.”
Richards’ colleagues at the hospital supported her and
monitored her recovery with messages and phone calls even after she had
recovered and returned to work. She expected that her colleagues would be
scared of her when she returned to work but they welcomed her back without hesitation.
“I am really happy to be back at the hospital where I feel I can make a
contribution in fighting the pandemic and supporting my colleagues.”
According to suster Erica Stephansen, the Operational Manager for
Trauma and Theatre at Hermanus Hospital, Richards is an excellent and
dedicated nurse. “She is a hard worker who does not hesitate to get things
done. She is always willing to help out and take on extra tasks and puts her
patients first. Her positive attitude, skills, and diligence inspire and motivate
her colleagues in the Emergency Centre. She is a great asset to Hermanus
Hospital.”
True to her positive attitude, Richards encourages
those in quarantine and isolation that things will get better and that you need
to persevere. “Time passes quicker than you think. Stay strong, you can do it.
We are all fighting this virus together.”
