It was April 07, I had just finished my workout, and I felt a sudden loss of energy. That was the first sign, I thought it could be low BP. The next day, I had a severe body ache, but no fever. I would worry about being the carrier, and every time I felt any symptoms, I got tested. This time was no different. The gentleman collecting samples in my area was proactive and came home after my first call. I even got the following blood tests done: complete blood count (CBC), CRP, D-dimer, LDH, IL-6, Liver Function Test.
On April 09, I woke up with a loss of sense of smell and taste. My face had rashes all over. And the next four days were so foggy. I am usually a very up-tempo kind of person, and now just standing for five minutes was tiring me out. Fortunately, my saturation levels were good. And one piece of good advice I got was: Just sleep it off.
It was on Day 05 there was no bodyache and I had little more energy than the last few days, but taste and smell were still a distant dream. My friends sent me good food to make me feel better, but it was so sad that all I could taste was salt or sugar!
I went on a protein-rich low-carb diet. Since I am a vegetarian, I doubled my intake of dal and paneer. Also, I started taking lots of nariyal pani and orange, anar juice. Since I had a cold, I didn’t take anything cold but was taking Azithromycin, Limcee and Zac D as prescribed. I used to have giloy water every morning. It’s supposed to be a fantastic immunity booster. Besides, I would burn camphor in my room, morning and evening.
I was doing well the first few days. When it comes to coping with the disease, I knew I would get through it. Friends and family alike kept me extremely occupied with video calls, chats etc., and not to forget my two fur babies. But because I stay alone, it was difficult for me to keep myself motivated. I hit rock bottom all of a sudden. Cases in Delhi had suddenly multiplied and there was sadness in the air.
That’s when I just picked art to my rescue. I learnt Resin Art on YouTube, held on to my music, and slowly chugged my way back. For the next one week, things looked better. My sense of taste and smell returned, but my energy levels would fluctuate.
My house help made life easier, but there was this constant stress of me infecting them by mistake. The day I got out of quarantine, my cook told me that his wife, who stayed some 10 km away, had tested positive three days after me. But he still continued to take care of me while helping his wife from afar.
On Day 17, I tested negative, and immediately flew to Kolkata to be close to my family. It was the many positive conversations, mindless banter, and love that got me through.
Sheena Agarwal is Director of Agashe-Multi Designer Store
As told to Nikita Sharma