Satarupa Paul, 34, is an independent journalist, originally from Assam, living in Delhi since 2005. Here she shares her experience.
I had the rarest of symptoms to begin with. Itchy palms. I ignored it for 3-4 days, thinking it’s some sort of seasonal allergy, which I get every other year. But one morning I woke up with a sore throat and began sneezing non-stop. Next morning, I had complete congestion, and a headache. That’s when I consulted my doctor, who suggested I get a Covid test done immediately.
I was a little concerned that I might have Covid, but what made me really angry over the next few hours was not being able to secure a test in the first place. Most of the private labs didn’t have any slots available for home collection for the next several days and were running choc-a-bloc for on-site testing. After several hours of calls, online searches, and reaching out to friends all over the city, I managed to get the contact of a sample collector, who agreed to come to my place. It took about 36 hours for me to get my test reports that came back positive. It was a little unnerving, mostly because I live alone and also because informing my parents about it who live half a country away was quite a task. They were more worried and scared for me more than I was.
I consulted my doctor again and he prescribed a whole list of medicines (all consultation was through WhatsApp and phone calls), which again was a pain to secure, as there was a shortage of several of these medicines. I had to order one medicine all the way from Noida (I live in South Delhi). It’s almost a week now since the ordeal began for me. Most of my symptoms were mild, except the sneezing and this constant chest pain, which gave me and my doctor quite a scare. I got several blood tests done. Two parameters in those tests came out quite high, which made my doctor suggest an immediate CT scan of my chest. That was the scariest part of the whole ordeal... the wait, to know if I had some serious infection in my lungs and if it was going to escalate.
Thankfully, my scan came out clear. I am on medication for another week or so. Most of my symptoms have subsided, along with a whole lot of other regimen — steam inhalation, deep breathing, proning, and what not. I am getting better now, although there’s a debilitating weakness that will last for a while. Having said the above, I do feel blessed because I was never really alone. My friends and family were constantly in touch that has helped a lot in seeing this through. A friend’s mom sent home-cooked food that lasted me for several meals, so that I did not have to exert myself to cook. I also feel blessed that my symptoms were not too serious to demand a hospital visit. Considering the collapsing state of healthcare in the city at the moment, I was not ready for that experience.
It can get very overwhelming at times to be in the thick of things. Even the outpouring of support and love from family and friends can feel like a task to keep up to. And all those suggestions from everyone can get to you, even if meant in good faith. I just shut everything and everyone out on the days I didn’t have the energy or mind space to deal with, put my phone on silent (after informing my parents obviously) and just read a book or watched a show/movie. Meditation has also helped a lot in calming and grounding.
I will try to test again next Monday maybe (around 12 days since I tested positive). But will have to check on that since the second test for a negative report is apparently not happening in Delhi.
If you have/had tested positive in the second wave and want to talk about it, write to us on tmsfeature@newindianexpress.com