On an ordinary Friday evening, Francine Uwitonze, a stay-at-home mother of three, was preparing dinner for her family when she felt a rush in her body. She started sweating and trembling as her body kept weakening.

Her neighbourhood in Nyarugenge, the hardest-hit district in Kigali, lost two people to Covid-19 in the past two months. She never got to bury them or pay a visit to their families. She knows of family members and friends who are in critical condition in Covid-19 hospitals.

Although she has no underlying health issues, Ms Uwitonze fears Covid-19 than any other sickness.

“The idea that I have caught Covid-19 was so terrifying that I even avoided it. I know people who died of the virus and as a parent, my children were the first thing I thought of when I felt the symptoms,” she narrates.

Ms Uwitonze lives with a family of five people. She had heard that with mild symptoms, one could isolate themselves, eat well and eventually get better. The following day, she did just that. She was already convinced that she had caught Coronavirus from a hospital she had recently visited.

After one day, her situation exacerbated. She lost both her taste and smell, she developed a dry cough and before she knew it, she was having breathing complications.

“I could not eat; I was alone in isolation and scared. When I finally decided to go for Covid-19 testing, doctors immediately hospitalised me and put me on oxygen.

I remember thinking I was going to die, it was terrifying,” Ms Uwitonze testified.

At 43, Ms Uwitonze had never been hospitalised before. Everything was new and terrifying for her. Breathing was painful and her whole body ached.

The hospital was crowded with Covid-19 patients in critical conditions. She would see people younger than her put on breathing machines, dead bodies were taken out every day, and new arrivals every few hours.

“I know there are people who are still hesitant about Covid-19. They should pay a visit to hospitals and see for themselves.

We can only pray for this pandemic to end,” she said. Ms Uwitonze is the key caretaker of her family. Her home without her was falling apart. Her husband spent at least Rwf300,000 on some drugs, food, and transport to the hospital.

Her family members were morally and financially exhausted. This added to the fear that her children might have also caught the virus.

“I had heard recently that a five-day old baby died of Covid-19. I would remember how I shared a drink with my six-year-old daughter before I got sick and literally sobbing. It was terrifying,” Ms Uwitonze recounts.

Her elder daughter and son were sitting for trimester exams when she got sick. When the school found out, they ordered their whole class to quarantine for some days. They missed their exams and Ms Uwitonze resented herself for it.

One week after she recovered, Ms Uwitonze is very strict about adhering to Covid-19 guidelines. Her family is still recovering from the shock. She always makes sure family members, friends, neighbors, and people around her follow guidelines properly. She would never wish for anyone else to go through what she had.