52-year old Gavin Dittmar, CEO of Meridian Wine Merchants, has beaten the Covid-19 virus in just five days, with just paracetamol, mulit-vitamins and lots of rest.
Gavin Dittmar - CEO Of Meridian Wine Merchants |
Dittmar tested positive for the novel Corona virus three days after returning to South Africa on March 15, from a two-week trip to Austria and the Netherlands, where he believes he contracted the virus.
Just hours after arriving back in South Africa, he fell ill with typical symptoms - headache, fever, nausea and exhaustion. He went for a test at a Lancet drive-through facility in Morningside the following day. Two days later, the results confirmed the worst - Dittmar tested positive for Covid-19.
"I was relieved, to know what it was. I thought: Ok, good this makes sense. I was already, in self-isolation from Sunday night and doing what was necessary to protect my family. Fortunately, I wasn't coughing or sneezing. But I was also starting to wonder if I my body could deal with this thing ... Because you can't take anything for it. You have to rely on your body."
Already in self-isolation, Dittmar took paracetamol and multi-vitamins to keep his immune system strong. In just five days, Dittmar was back to normal and has now resumed his normal life, albeit under lockdown.
A father of two children, Dittmar's daughter also started to present some symptoms, but tested negative. Neither his wife nor son have any symptoms.
Dittmar is confident he is now fully recovered, although he hasn't yet been tested negative for the virus. "I'm mowing the lawn and gyming at home every day," he said. His doctor, Michelle Bernadie, confirmed that Dittmar is fully recovered, as he no longer had any symptoms, 14 days after the onset of symptoms. "He's a lucky guy" she said.
"It is very much like flu, but definitely much worse" said Dittmar from his Bryanston home in Johannesburg. "Also, it was a bit confusing, as I had some mild symptoms on 8-9 March, while doing business in Netherlands, before returning to South Africa. Those symptoms disappeared and then came back much worse."
As CEO of Meridian Wine Merchants, Dittmar informed his staff by way of an email with a link to a video, on Friday, 20th March, to share his experience: "It's Friday (20th March) morning now. It's day 5 and I'm feeling a lot better. The fever has disappeared, my headaches are gone and I'm on the road to recovery."
"This is serious. It's like a very bad flu. But if you do get it, it's not the end of the world. If you look after yourself and you rest, you recover ... And you can carry on. - (1439)
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