I regularly drank kaada, sanitised my hands, always stepped out with a mask, only shopped online, did not use public transport, only drove my car, maintained social distancing…So, when I got fever on April 12, and my RT-PCR test came positive by April 14, I got very irritated. But had I not taken these precautions, I might have got infected earlier, perhaps more severely.
Two days before the fever, I had terrible body ache and a little cough. Then, loss of smell followed. After taking the Covid medication, by the fifth day my fever went away. However, two days after my report, my wife and three-and-a-half year old son tested positive.
That was the first time I got very scared about the situation. I did not inform my parents because they would have rushed from our village in Gopalganj, Bihar. I just notified my brother that only come in case of death to cremate us.
My family doctor and a specialist from Apollo Hospitals both said that our child was quite small, and would not be too affected by the virus. He was prescribed Limcee, Zincovit Ivermectin (only ¼ tablet per dose). His fever went away in two days. But my wife had fever for almost 15 days. She contracted pneumonia, and had 40 per cent lung involvement.
After recovering, my son and I occupied one bedroom and my wife isolated in another room. The first two days, my son longed to meet his mother. So I made up a story that mummy mein kheeda gaya hai. Agar mummy ke pass gaye toh woh kaat lega (A worm has entered your mother’s body and if you close it will bite you). After that he understood and would stay with me. My wife would communicate with us from a distance. I had to extend my 14-day leave as per Covid guidelines to one month, because of my wife’s condition.
Despite my immense fatigue, I took over the household chores. I would take 3-4 hours to complete a task that could be done in an hour. Initially, we ordered from Swiggy or Zomato aloo paratha, poori bhaji, or idli for breakfast; rice, dal mixed vegetables during the day, and chapatis and vegetables in the evening. But the food didn’t agree with us, and I started cooking meals, though my chapatis did turn out as good as my wife’s.
I recovered fully on April 25, and my wife sometime after May 05. Thereafter, we sanitised the whole place on our own. My advice is to just follow your doctor’s instructions. Don’t assume you have strong immunity and ignore any part of the prescription. Don’t rush to the hospital. My wife’s oxygen levels fell to 93- 94, but our doctor said to wait for a few days, and soon stabilised. Most importantly, I have seen Covid affected people roam about in public. Don’t be like them, stay at home.
Jay Prakash Sah, 41, Manager, TFCPC, SBI, resides at Vasundhara Enclave — As told to Ornella D’Souza