Fighting spirit: COVID-19 survivor Diya Naidu turns plasma donor
BENGALURU: As a stage artiste, Diya Naidu is used to being under the spotlight. But the last few weeks have been particularly overwhelming for the COVID-19 survivor, who is one of the first plasma donors from Karnataka.
Her phone has been buzzing ever since she took to Instagram to talk about donating plasma for coronavirus treatment trials. More so, after her aunt, veteran actor Nafisa Ali, posted about it as well.
In convalescent plasma therapy, antibodies from the blood of a recovered COVID-19 patient are used to treat those affected by the virus.
“There have been many times I thought this is the last time I was going to speak about my journey. But I continued to do it as the doctors suggested this would help reduce the fear people had about the virus and it could help them get more donors too,” says the 36-year-old dancer-choreographer.
Living in the city alone meant there was no one to accompany her for medical procedures.
“I was nervous initially. But it seemed like a regular process and the medical staff also put me at ease,” says Naidu.
The process was carried out in three cycles, in intervals.
Though not painful, the donation can make one momentarily weak, she says.
“I take dance classes in the mornings and evenings. I had to cancel some of the evening sessions because I had to take it easy for a few days since my body was still recovering,” says Naidu, who probably contracted the virus on her way back to Bengaluru from Switzerland after a dance project in March.
She returned to India on March 9 and tested positive on March 16.
Though asymptomatic, she had lost her sense of taste and smell, leading some doctors to initially believe that it could have just been a sign of sinus.
“We were learning things one day at a time but now we are better informed,” says Naidu, who stayed in the hospital for 20 days.
While her immediate contacts were also taken for testing, their results came out negative.
Love and wishes from friends and family members were plenty but Naidu encountered people’s meaner side too.
Afraid of having infected others, the artiste had taken to social media to urge people to get tested if they had got in touch with her.
“I did that out of genuine concern but instead, I was trolled for not quarantining myself on my return,” recalls Naidu, adding that at that time, only those returning from Iran, China, Italy and Singapore were required to self-isolate. But she isn’t one to hold grudges.
“This behaviour is coming from a place of fear,” she says. “Right now, my only request to everyone is to be compassionate and show support for those on the frontline.”