This is my story of how I navigated through the pandemic all alone, in a hospital while my family was based in Delhi. The good news is, I could defeat the virus. The bad news is, it can scar any of us.

By Mahesh Iyer

I saw it coming for a while. My New Years’ Eve was spent with a high temperature, well above 100. Oddly, I had both fever and shivering, but I related these symptoms as confirmation that it was not Covid. The physician whom I visited suggested all but a Covid test. A week after antibiotics, the fever wasn’t coming down. My family was worried and so was I. ! Very reluctantly I went for a Covid test. On 5th January, I tested positive. I was living away from my family in Delhi, with my relatives that included a cancer survivor and a diabetic – senior citizens both. I couldn’t seek their help for fear of infecting them, and they wouldn’t come near me. For an entire day, I told myself that I would isolate myself and the virus would go away. Any which way, it looked like the whole world came crashing. Picture this: you are ill, alone and no one can come to help you.

After a lot of deliberations with my family, friends, and colleagues, I decided to check in to a hospital – the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Institute of Medical Science and Research in Ahmedabad. The journey in the ambulance to the hospital was an eerie experience. More eerie was the hospital itself – a 40-bed Covid facility with just one occupant – me! It was a government-run hospital but a pretty decent place and very clean.

Being diabetic and an asthmatic, I was in strife, as I had read that I was an ideal candidate for the ICU. I wasn’t sure of the treatment protocols as well. I was given steroids, insulin (I am not insulin-dependent) but my sugars still fluctuated from 143 to 247 to even 358! Thankfully, my asthma didn’t play up and my breathing was under no stress.

When the doctor mentioned they are planning to give me Remdesivir – I froze. I had seen numerous YouTube videos on the after-effects of this drug. After numerous assurances from the doctor, I reluctantly agreed to the drug. The good news is, I recovered faster than I expected. The lesson? Never trust half-baked videos on medication for this disease. Stay away from misinformation.

On the sixth day, I went through another RT-PCR test. And happiness! I tested negative. This is probably the one “negative” news that made me positive!

I have no idea being negative would give you so much thrill in life! But I survived. I was locked up in that hospital for 7 days… wonder how the convicts survive for so many years? This one hell of depression, that I feel no one should get it! Easier said than done… It is quite a scary, and lonely fight. But thanks to technology, that kept me connected with my family and friends, I survived and triumphed.

Covid doesn’t necessarily kill you. It does break you. If you get infected, stay strong and stay informed. You shall overcome!