On April 15, I woke up with a sore throat and fever. The very next day, I was confined to my room at my house in Faridabad. It was not a high fever and stayed at 102 degrees, but I had a very bad cough. Suspecting something wrong, I got my RT-PCR test done and the results came back positive on April 19. It made me anxious and I decided not to let my family wife, two kids and parents catch the infection.
So, I moved to another home I have in Lajpat Nagar 3. I managed myself because I was not so ill that I could not care for myself. But a friend of mine chose to stay with me in the next room to help. He took care of the things that were required at that point of time.
Though my mother was concerned about me leaving and wanted to take care of me with her home remedies, I still insisted on shifting.
By the time I left, I had already started the medicines prescribed by my family physician. It included Cepodem, Medrol, Zincovit, Pan D, and Crocin. My fears came true. My wife and two house helps also tested positive on April 22, three days after I left.
But we did not stay together because we didn’t want the kids to get the virus. As a result of the infection, I wasn’t able to speak for very long. Even though I had no house help, I was on a very strict diet consisting only of fruits, salad, coconut water, and some South Indian food.
But I had lost my smell by the fourth day and taste by the sixth day, so it felt like taking medicine as I could not get the taste of anything. I also used some home remedies such as eating raw neem leaves, drinking turmeric powder in water, and Giloy tonic. I used to drink two-three litres of water every day. I tried everything I could think of.
No food was delivered from outside. I would start my day with breathing exercises, work during the day, and then enjoy watching TV, Netflix. I also did a lot of yoga, as it is an integral part of my life, I would take walks inside the room. I was constantly in touch with my doctors, monitored my oxygen levels continuously, and even received an oxygen machine at home.
On May 5, I finally tested negative. In the two months since I recovered, I haven’t experienced any medical issues. In the beginning, I couldn’t work, which resulted in financial losses too. I also missed out on meeting people. But God was kind to me that he brought me out of this difficult situation.
I am forever grateful to my doctors, my friend, and family for their continuous support, especially my kids who were in touch with me over the calls.
Vinay K Mayer, 38, is Director, Market Research & Consulting Director, Asia Research Partners LLP
(As told to Nikita Sharma)