My experience with COVID19

 

This is a long rambling post, one that was put together over a long period of time when I recollected the time I went through the Second wave of COVID. If you do not like long posts stop right here because the post will be taxing, but I decided to put it up because such experiences should not be forgotten.

I got vaccinated on the 17th of May, it was my first dose of Covaxin. On the 27th of May I woke up with a mild fever. The symptoms looked like COVID so i went into isolation following the teleconsultation of a doctor. After the usual battle with COWIN the better half landed a slot the following day. To check if she could be vaccinated both of us took a precautionary RTPCR test which returned negative the next day. We informed this to the doctor who was consulting on the phone but she said its symptomatic avoid the shot stay isolated and as primary contact the better half should also isolate.

4 days later the temperature shot up for me dramatically and i visited a doctor who gave an injection and medicines while recommending the CT Scan and blood tests. Thanks to the injection the temperature was normal and the CT Scan was taken. The blood samples were to be taken in the morning. In home isolation I was thinking of the mandatory ten days and waited. Then the fever spiked and I was moved to a COVID hospital where I was treated for the high fever for 5 days. This hospital allowed an attender and so the better half stayed along with the double masking and distancing asked by the team of doctors.

After five days the fever dropped and then I got worse i needed oxygen and I was put on oxygen. My condition worsened and the family asked to move to a known large Hospital. I was moved to Vijaya Hospital by oxygen ambulance and then I went into a daze for days. The medical team worked on me, my life was reduced to an oxygen bed. All my functions happened on the bed as I was too weak to even sit.

Four days later or even six I am not sure the better half having been infected by me earlier and requiring help was admitted in the next bed and we were treated together. Even in my hazy state I was aware of the wonderful staff of VHC who took care of me. Somewhere in the start of these six days I had regressed to a step away from the ICU and the family was concerned. Prayers poured in from all, masses were being offered and the recovery began.

The power of prayer was in flow when I gradually improved and became more aware of what was going on. I still believed i was still having a fever but then the oxygen was needed for me, from 15 ltrs the oxygen stabilized and then the recovery began with the reduced oxygen. My masks changed from one to a simpler one and one day the oxygen was stopped. I was breathing unassisted. Somewhere in this recovery the presence of the other half made its impact, together we got better and her presence made me recover faster.

When i was in hospital at the lowest point I was unable to do any of my bodily functions, I was unable to even sit. To eat food, I would be breathless and I had to use a diaper as I was not able to move. I was cared for well and one young admirable duty doctor kept talking to me and building my confidence saying it is in me to recover. I started recovering little by little and my spirit rose. The sense of helplessness and shame when you need to be dressed and cleaned by another person is something that cannot be explained. The staff in the hospital must be commended for the care they showed. 

I got better and one day I actually sat down. When a simple act as sitting down becomes a landmark you know that you have been blessed from above.  My oxygen kept reducing and I started eating more building up my energy. One day the oxygen was stopped and I could breathe by myself, that moment i realized the beauty of breathing. All the prayers around me worked, before I hit rock bottom when I was in bed i wrote a hymn and set it to tune on the bed, I wrote down the words on the phone lying prone because those words came from an inspiration and the words gave me courage.

It was at this time the little one made a video for a competition by herself. She had found a song we don’t use and fell in love with it. Watching the video filled me with paternal pride and i gave feedback on the song and let it go. After some time it stuck me, the song that she had chosen earlier and worked on and sang was "this is the air I breathe", for someone who was unable to breathe, it was already planned.

Finally, it was the day to leave the hospital after thanking everyone in the bay with some custom home made baked goodies by the sibling we left for home. It felt surreal to be out in the sun and then the small things of life seemed so beautiful: the breeze, the sun shine, the sounds and scenes of Chennai. In some time, we came home and recuperation started and that is another long story.