A couple weeks ago, my 17 year old started to get headaches and feel a bit fatigued. We are in Nairobi and on lockdown and by this time, she has already been home and doing online schooling for a month.I didn't think much of it at first but eventually she got a fever and sore throat which accompanied her headache. When it didn't go away for a few days, I called the private clinic we normally visit and the doctor on duty recommended I bring her in. He said she might have a bacterial infection and this should be ruled out.She hadn't been out of the house in a month and these weren't exactly the circumstances she had been dreaming about for busting out (a formerly hated trip to the grocery store would be a future dream come true these days). Never-the-less, we donned our masks and drove to the clinic. I recommend going early to any of the private clinics in town- they are very quiet at 8 or 8:30.We were the only ones there besides the staff and quickly got called by the nurse for taking of vitals. As my daughter was having her blood pressure taken, she suddenly felt very faint. The nurse said we should take her into one of the exam rooms to lie down. As we started to walk there, my daughter said, 'I see spots' followed by 'my ears are ringing' followed by the inevitable slump to the ground.By this time, there were a few more patients in the clinic so- as you can imagine- this caused a bit of a kerfuffle. But within 15 seconds, she had regained consciousness and was back on her feet. She lay down on the examining bed and the doctor came to give us the news: because of her temperature, she would have to be sent for a Covid-19 test. My daughter adamantly declared that she didn't have Coronavirus but protocol is protocol.We were given a referral letter and sent to Aga Khan Hospital. The test is very pricey- Kshs 16,000 when you include the cost of the personal protective gear for the doctor. So, we wanted to use our insurance. But we were told that the insurance excludes this and we needed a letter from our insurance company. To make a long story short, while my daughter slept in the car for more than an hour, the hospital employee was very helpful in getting us the needed letter.The doctor who performed the Covid-19 test also examined her, which they were not able to do in the clinic and was convinced that she had a bacterial infection for which he prescribed antibiotics. Twenty-four hours later, we received the Covid-19 results- negative- and she already had a much reduced fever from the antibiotics.We went back to the clinic a few days later and she was properly tested and diagnosed with a different virus and given better antibiotics for treating the resulting bacterial infection. She is still on the mend but definitely getting better every day.What was the mistake I made? In trying to avoid the clinic so as to keep her/me from getting infected with Covid-19, I waited too long to take her to the doctor. And she ended up needing to go to the clinic AND the hospital. The international news is showing that lots of people in badly affected countries are dying at home of other medical issues because they are scared to go to the doctor. We are lucky because she is young and strong and will be fine. But I do wish I had taken her earlier as she suffered longer than she needed to.