BENGALURU: Dr Anuradha H K, a neurologist with a passion for running and who has run several marathons over the past three years, was diagnosed with Covid a few months ago.
The condition affected her lungs, making her worry whether she would ever be able to run marathons again. While it took her a while to recover, she chose not to give up and started training again.
Through grit and determination, she recently completed a 12-hour stadium run covering 87.15 km, and securing the second place. Dr Anuradha (42), who works at Aster CMI Hospital, was diagnosed with Covid towards September-end. Though her condition was not severe at the beginning, she still got herself admitted to the hospital.
On the third day, her oxygen saturation levels started dropping, and she suffered severe bouts of cough. She was unable to walk as she was weak.
Her CT scan revealed moderate pneumonia and she was administered medicines. But her condition deteriorated. She recovered in 10 days, but continued to suffer from some weakness, forcing her to visit the hospital again.
It took her two long months to fully recover. Immediately after, she started walking around the house and slowly hit the park for longer walks.
“I did not want to give up on running. It is something that I love doing. I have participated in over 50 marathons across the country.
Though I was worried and would at certain times suffer panic attacks thinking about my lungs, and fearing if I could end up with reinfection, I did not give up,” said Dr Anuradha. She trained for a month and participated in her first marathon after recovering from Covid. “I didn’t know if I would be able to do it. But I completed it. I was so delighted and happy that I was running again. I didn’t participate to win, but to see how much I could cover,” she said.