COVID survivor diary: I decided to take care of myself and my ‘boys’

By the grace of god, we were with our family and that was a great support emotionally as well as mentally.
Veta Ratra, her husband and son all tested positive; (right) her Covid diet. (Photo | Special Arrangement)
Veta Ratra, her husband and son all tested positive; (right) her Covid diet. (Photo | Special Arrangement)

On April 21, I started having a slight fever and body ache. I attributed my body ache to my lack of sleep the day before, but my husband is very particular, and checked my temperature which was 98.8 degrees.

I isolated myself, and soon after my temperature increased and I started to develop nose blockage and cough.

Two days later, we called up a lab attendant at home to take my Covid test, which ended up being positive.

By the grace of god, we were with our family and that was a great support emotionally as well as mentally.

My doctor was very careful in her prescription, and recommended I get a lot of tests done, right from blood tests to early chest X-ray to CT scan.

I took Fabiflu, Dolo, Azithral, Vitamin C, Zinc, and was also using a nebuliser or inhaler as I had a bad cough.

After a few days, my three-year-old got infected, followed by my husband, who got infected exactly a week after me.

We are eight family members with four caretakers, and six out of 12 of us got infected within a week’s gap.

Thankfully, our parents were fine. My mother-in-law took charge of our meals. My fatherin- law constantly checked on us, arranged medicines and made sure we didn’t fall short of anything.

I was lucky that I didn’t lose my sense of taste and smell. I relied on a high-protein homecooked food and avoided spicy foods.

I had foods like poha, idli, dal, sabzi, roti and salad, fruits, and coconut water.

I also drank two-three litres of warm water every day. Having flavoured green teas and kadha during the day became a routine.

It was a challenging time, but when I saw my husband and son in isolation, I decided to take care of myself and my ‘boys’.

I made a routine for myself, which included timely yoga, breathing exercises, meals, and medicines, etc.

During that time, I realised that as an adult we can manage on our own, but explaining to a child that we cannot step out of the house because we have been infected is difficult.

It took me 20 days to come out of isolation and test negative. My appetite has gone down post recovery. I feel in these tough times you need family’s support, and my inlaws were a great support system.

Veta Ratra is a Delhi-based PR Professional — As told to Nikita Sharma

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