This is the story of my father. He is a COVID survivor and a strong-willed fighter. Before I begin, I want to let people know that this story is not to dishearten anyone but to give people hope that with proper medical attention, this disease can be fought off. Self-medication or not consulting a doctor is not the way to go but seeking help and staying positive is.
Our family's experience with COVID started on April 1 when we all-my father, mother and me turned positive. I was the carrier due to exposure to the virus in the line of duty as frontline worker. On the same day doctors at GMC Baramulla conducted several tests including an X-ray scanning of the chest before recommending a strict home isolation.
My brother returned from Dehradun within a day and on April-04 he also tested positive with severe symptoms. Next day the condition of my father deteriorated, oxygen saturation went below 90 leaving me no option but to shift him to GMC Baramulla. HRCT performed by doctor’s detected severe COVID Bilateral pneumonia. The other markers like D-dimmer, CRP, LDH, I-l6, ferritin were highly raised. He was finally put on Oxygen Support System and the treatment as per protocol was started by a team of doctors.
On April-06, my sister left her 16-month old baby at her in-laws’ home and came to take care of my ailing brother and mother back home while as i was taking care of my father at hospital. I thank God for being asymptotic that gave me an opportunity to serve my father. Had It been otherwise, there would have been nobody to take care of us except the angels sent by God in the form of doctors and nurses at hospital.
On April-08 despite giving Ramdesivir which was managed at high price, the condition of my father deteriorated and doctors at GMC Baramulla suspected respiratory failure and got him shifted to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Srinagar. As if this was not enough; the next day back home my sister also contracted virus while the condition of my father was deteriorating with every passing minute. Life seemed to be at the dark end and I started losing my confidence and patience. My father was now put on high flow oxygen besides putting him on high dose steroids.
While facing all this, I was slipping into depression with wild and scary thoughts running in my mind and I had no strength to bear any bad news now. I realized that family was my biggest strength and every individual of my family was fighting a lonely battle- a battle for life.
Back home my mother and brother developed severe symptoms and our family helper came to the rescue by risking his own life and shifted them to hospital.
The situation started turning ugly after April 10th as the body temperature of my dad refused to subside. He had a cough that sounded to be coming from deep inside his lungs. His situation was deteriorating day by day, my mom and brother also developed sore throat and high-grade fever as well but the main focus was on my dad because of his pre-existing conditions as he got operated six times during last 9 years.
The more scary things were unfolding before me in the lonely wards of SKIMS as my dad was hallucinating now; his saturation was hovering over 85-88 despite on high flow oxygen. While I was losing my confidence, my dad was fighting it bravely despite so many ailments. This fighting spirit of my father kept me going. I wonder if I was taking care of my father or vice-versa. My dad has been my strength all through my life. He has been their when I faced the worst in my life and today when he was on death bed, he was again teaching me how to face the worst. My memories were flashing before me right from the School days.
With dip in saturation, the only option at one point of time was to give chest-Physio in an attempt to increase his saturation levels but i knew i was swimming against the flow.
There was a sigh of relief after a fortnight as my dad tested negative on April 14 despite dip in oxygen saturation. Next Papa’s saturation dropped to below 80 and his pulse was steadily decreasing. His blood glucose had also shot up; He was in no condition to talk or walk. Like my dad, I was also turning weak and pale. Feeling helpless, i tried to reach out to my relatives but no one turned up for obvious reasons. I was feeling dizziness. I had not slept for many nights together.
That day i realized this is end of world for me and i called my other siblings- a brother and sister who were yet not negative to come to SKIMS to see papa for one last time as i thought time is running too fast.
Now I had mentally prepared myself for the worst. I hold my wits and discussed with a Sikh friend who happens to be my driver also. We even planned funeral arrangements.
But after every difficulty there is hope and after April 19, Dad started responding to the treatment. Like me, the doctors attending him were happiest. That day I realized how doctors treat their patients while on bed. Dad was finally discharged on April 26 and was advised home oxygen therapy @5 litres
My father is stable now and external oxygen support has been withdrawn since June 01.
After these hectic 26 days on very next day i was ready to resume my duties. That was the day I realized that I had lost 7 kgs of weight. As District Nodal Officer COVID, i started discharging my duties and due to team efforts Bandipora is now green zone
Now thinking in retrospect, we find that there are lessons to be learned for people who themselves or their relatives are suffering from COVID. It’s very important to seek immediate help and not to wait for the symptoms to progress, especially when breathlessness sets in.
In my case i did not wait for saturation levels to drop to dangerous levels. COVID does not take too long to get bad, especially if you develop progressive pneumonia. Don’t wait for your lungs to get damaged to a point of no return. Especially for people with comorbidities, cardiac conditions or diabetes that are very common; keep an eye on the blood glucose levels, especially when administering steroids. This would all be taken care of in a hospital but if you don’t have one available, keep in touch with your doctor to make sure you are following all the steps you need to and very closely monitoring your symptoms.
I can’t imagine the pain, many others, like me, went through and my heart goes out to their families. I can only hope for things to get better but not without people not getting vaccinated and not following social distancing. Please believe in science and follow the rules to contain the spread.
Don’t expect anything from anyone as it has been 90 days now and no one has visited us as if we had committed a grave sin by getting positive. We must hate the virus and take precautions but we must not hate the patient.
I am thankful to medical staff of GMC Baramulla , SKIMS Srinagar particularly the staff of ward-2A who were continuously supporting during the tough times. My sincere gratitude to DC Bandipora for continuous morale support.
I am thankful to almighty and my sincere thanks to other attendants of Ward-2A who are lifelong friends now like Mr showkat Ahmad , Mr Suhail Ahmad , Mr Sujat Mantoo and my best friends Zaid Ishtiyaq without their moral support my family would have been a memory.