The Chief Medical Director of University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, has given vivid details of how he recovered from the infectious coronavirus disease.
He said that his saving grace was that before the infection, beside his absolute belief in the healing powers of God, he had a very low viral load and was on a high dose of Vitamin C.
Otegbayo had about three Sundays ago personally announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and advised all those who had contact with him to go on isolation. When his samples were however taken again on Tuesday, March 31, 2020, the result, which was released after about three days later, came out negative.
The don, who relieved his experience in an interview on Channels TV Sunrise, monitored in Lagos Monday, disclosed that in addition to the administration of an undisclosed dose of Chloroquine on him by his personal doctors, his swift healing was aided by his low viral load, which suggested he has a very low history of viral diseases, high dose of Vitamin C and his absolute belief in God.
According to him, prior to his testing positive to the virus, he did not manifest any symptom of the disease nor did he, during the period of isolation, until he tested negative again.
On the stigma and trauma associated with testing positive to the virus, the professor said: “I had no fear of being stigmatised after the treatment because I knew that the virus is not such that stays in a victim’s body for a long time. But the trauma of having to stay away from my family was very much because I love my children, and so we had to resort to phone calls.
“Naturally I am a very active person; in fact I am restless. So when I had to be confined to a place for a period of time, it was quite traumatic. It is like confining a once very active child to one place; for such a child, that would be the greatest punishment.”
On the possible abuse of Chloroquine, while refusing to disclose the dose of the drug that was administered on him, he also warned that his medical team prescribed and administered it on him based on several other considerations that had to do with his body chemistry, which might be peculiar to him.
He disclosed that the management of UCH had to shut some aspects of the operations of the college, having to ask some categories of members of staff to stay off duty and ensuring that medical personnel wore adequate Personal Protective Equipment, among several others.
Financial Street gathered that the college is currently converting its 25-bed hospital for the treatment of Tuberculosis to COVID-19 treatment, which has been stalled by funds.
The CMD, who called on the private sector operators and public-spirited individuals for assistance towards completing the project, however, disclosed that it had received N5m from Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company aside other materials from other individuals and groups.
