Dr. Tony Frankson, 67, is one of six people to have recovered from COVID-19 in The Bahamas.
Frankson was admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) on March 28 after testing positive for the virus.
“By Monday of last week, I was able to shower by myself and so on, which was a great relief to the nurses,” he told The Nassau Guardian yesterday.
He added, “I struggled and I did what I had to do. When I took that first bath, I was so out of breath that I just turned around and let it (the water) run on me. I let it run on me like hydrotherapy and that just strengthened me and afterward I just dried off.”
Frankson was discharged from the hospital on April 8.
“By the time they took me home on Wednesday, I was much stronger,” he said.
“They dropped me home at about 11 o’clock on Wednesday night and I was much stronger. I could walk down the ambulance steps. They wanted to lay me on the ambulance trolley.
“I said, ‘Nope. I’m sitting up here plus I have to show you where I live.’ So, I guided them.”
Frankson, an American lecturer living on New Providence, said he attempted to walk around his garden the next day.
“I was so unstable walking down the backyard, but I went halfway down the back and looked around and said, ‘Okay, tomorrow I’ll do the front,’” he said.
“So, the next day, I went up to the front and I did the whole front — from the house to the gate and back. Then, I rested the day before yesterday, but yesterday I did the whole property.
“You just have to have the determination that you are going to push yourself but not too hard.”
Asked how he feels now, Frankson said, “I feel like there’s still a way to go for my recovery. In a few days, I’ll feel much better. I’ve amazed myself with the amount of strength I’ve regained. I went downtown this morning to the main branch of my bank and they were closed.
“I went to check out BTC and they were closed and I walked all the way down from the Hilton back to Parliament and that was even farther than I thought I could do.
“I was surprised. I didn’t feel breathless. I felt strong.”
He said it was “special” being able to return home for Easter.
“I prayed and held God’s hand throughout the whole process coming up to Easter because that was the time I was ill and getting better as well,” he said.
“I had many people praying for me and the good news that I was doing better came around Easter time.”
Frankson, who is an Adventist, said his church allowed him to do the welcome for Saturday’s service.
With a laugh, he said, “I did the welcome from my kitchen. I welcomed everybody.”
He said he hasn’t sanitized his house since returning because “the virus would’ve died out from the time that I was in the hospital”.
Asked how he felt about his recovery, he said, “I am very satisfied with it… It’s a steady recovery.”
He said his wife, who is abroad, is “very happy” about his recovery.
“She’s torn that she can’t come down because there are no flights allowed, but she wants to come down,” Frankson said.
“It might be easier for me to go up at some stage.”
The post Doctor who beat COVID-19 rebuilding strength appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/2020/04/15/doctor-who-beat-covid-19-rebuilding-strength/
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