MY TRAUMATIC COVID-19
INFECTION
Last year, during 1st wave of Covid-19 Pandemic, I was one of the chosen ones of God to receive hands down real time life lessons. We are aware of life lessons thru preaching & reading of religious texts but never realise its effectiveness.
On the night of
23/24 June 2020 I was helped with great difficulty to a waiting ambulance with
oxygen support. I had fever, was very weak & had difficulty in breathing. I
was rushed from Dahisar to a reputed hospital in Andheri west. Suspecting Covid
19 infection I was admitted to an ICU unit of a very reputed hospital.
Click the link below for all Articles on Motivation in Prose n Poems blog prosenpoems30:
https://prosenpoems30.blogspot.com/search/label/MOTIVATIONAL
Click the link below for my Motivational Book "PERCEPTION-WHY ME" in Prose n Poems blog prosenpoems30::https://prosenpoems30.blogspot.com/search/label/PERCEPTION%20WHY%20ME
It was a time of total fear of the unknown. Taking no heed of everybody’s advice my wife was adamant in accompanying me in the Ambulance to the hospital. My Son, brothers, relatives, & neighbours were restrained from coming near me for fear of getting infected. Controlling fears of getting infected & fighting tears my wife was the only one who stood firmly behind me giving me courage to face this dreaded Corona Virus.
This was the start of 3 weeks of my nightmare. From the ambulance I was hurriedly whisked away to a Covid-19 ICU isolation ward. I was not even allowed to interact with my wife. Nobody was aware where I was taken. Covid-19 ICU isolation ward was really an isolation ward from where a patient is not even able to see whether it is day or night nor anybody allowed to visit.
Someone was
finding my veins for blood, others were taking my Blood Pressure & Sugar
reading, one of the nurse was sticking wires on my chest, my right hand index
finger was put in a oxy pulse meter, a tube carrying oxygen was fixed in my
nostrils. I was all wired up to indicator machines which were beeping all the
time. An ICU patient needs to relax but constant beeping of monitors was a
major irritant & added to the anxiety.
As I was all wired & settled I became aware that my adjacent bed patient was in great pain & trouble. He was coughing badly & getting suffocated & choking as he was unable to spit out the phlegm. It was a very horrifying night for me. I was still not aware of the gravity of my condition. I had difficulty in breathing & slight exertion made me breathless as my oxygen saturation was dipping.
Click the link below for all Articles on Motivation in Prose n Poems blog prosenpoems30:
https://prosenpoems30.blogspot.com/search/label/MOTIVATIONAL
Click the link below for my Motivational Book "PERCEPTION-WHY ME" in Prose n Poems prosenpoems30::https://prosenpoems30.blogspot.com/search/label/PERCEPTION%20WHY%20ME
Controlling my
fears, I got worried about my wife. What was her condition & how was she
able to reach home at such an unearthly hour. Thought of my wife’s trauma
helped in diverting my mind from my own condition. Next morning I was able to
use my mobile phone as all my belongings were under the control of nurses. As
oxygen mask covered my mouth I could only text & exchange messages with my
wife & son.
Next morning I was shifted to another room where my co-patient was an old Parsi gentleman in comatose condition. His conditioned looked bad as he was under constant observation. My blood was taken at regular intervals & other parameters were constantly monitored. CT scan & X-ray was taken.
Things seemed to be under control when sudden flurry of nervous activity & frantic beeps from monitors indicated that my adjacent bed patient’s condition started to deteriorate. Nursing staff were frantically trying to revive the patient by pumping his chest & using other gadgets. Dazed at all the frenzied activity I was getting very nervous.
Over & above all the sounds I heard a distinct but subtle sound of “phut”. The sound was of life leaving a body or the sound of death. The sound was like bursting of an air bubble from a single bud of a packing material. Immediately a lady doctor checked & declared the Parsi gentleman dead. Doctor saw me daze d & observing all the commotion. She immediately ordered to shift me to another room. Seeing suffering of my co-patients & the stressful condition of hospital staff I was very sceptical that I will survive this crisis
My health was dipping & condition in isolation ward was making me restless & nervous. I was under constant watch of the nurses. As I lay resigned to my fate I thought that here I was lucky to have so many persons monitoring my health but my wife is alone in the house quarantined & stuck with the stigma of Corona Virus
My wife had never been alone in her life & now she was shunned, ostracised & left to fend for herself. My wife is a strong person. Together we have weathered many storms in our life but alone to keep wits in such trying times is a hard task. She must have been in total despair & on the verge of a nervous breakdown. If required there will be no one to care for her as she had cared for me.
These thoughts helped in diverting my mind from my own condition. My health was slipping but by God’s grace instead of panicking & getting nervous I was getting used to all the gadgets attached to me. Probably as I was not thinking of my own problems I was not feeling the gravity of my situation.
My oxygen saturation was fluctuating at dangerously low level, both my arms had turned black in patches from where nurses were frequently taking out blood for checking, every 2nd day my chest x-ray was taken & CT Scan was done regularly. Nervousness & anxiety in the body language of Doctors & nurses was palpable. From the PPE suits I could not clearly see their faces but I could feel their despair.
World was struggling to understand the Covid-19 virus & its repercussions. Doctors & Nurses were treating patients on basis of available knowledge of the Virus. As per my knowledge there was no proven medicine against the Covid-19 virus. Treatment was based on controlling the related symptoms like Chest congestion, Lung Infection, Oxygen saturation, Fever, Throat Infection & heavy dose of medicine induced complications.
For the Doctors I was a high risk patient & my health was dipping. I am a senior citizen with only 1 Kidney combined with comorbidity problems of high BP, Diabetes & Cholesterol. Inspite of increasing oxygen intake my oxygen saturation was not improving. Doctors were very hesitant to administer strong & specialised medicines because of my related health problems.
My sister-in-law, a reputed Doctor, was monitoring & coordinating with the Doctors treating me. We are very grateful that her active involvement was very assuring that treatment was on the right track. She in turn would inform my wife & son. My son & daughter-in-law handled all the online payment & other requirements of the hospital.
One day a young
nurse taking my blood sample suddenly started feeling dizzy & nearly
collapsed. It was a pitiable situation & I felt sorry at the condition of
hospital staff. I enquired & was informed that hospital staff was working
in shifts of 8 hours wearing PPE suits. During shifts they were not allowed to
take off their PPE suits even for basic needs. It was like being caged in a
personal jail.
My health was not stabilising. I was feeling very weak & felt breathless at slightest of effort. But luckily for me my thoughts shifted from worrying about my own condition to the plight of the hospital staff. Incident of the nurse collapsing kept playing in my mind. I started thinking that how 1 sick person adversely affects lives of many family members, relatives, friends & especially hospital staff.
Click the link below for all Articles on Motivation in Prose n Poems blog prosenpoems30:
https://prosenpoems30.blogspot.com/search/label/MOTIVATIONAL
Click the link below for my Motivational Book "PERCEPTION-WHY ME" in Prose n Poems blog prosenpoems30::https://prosenpoems30.blogspot.com/search/label/PERCEPTION%20WHY%20ME
Condition of hospital staff was very pitiable in this Covid-19 Pandemic. They were fighting an enemy with limited resources, fending their own fears & working in trying conditions wearing PPE suits. Thinking of their plight helped to keep my mind away from my own health problems. I think my mind was less agitated as my thoughts were not fully focused on my own condition. This helped in giving time to the administered specialised medicines & increased infusion of oxygen to work & stabilise my condition.
After 2 weeks my condition started stabilising. Doctors started reducing my external oxygen dependency. Doctors & Nurses seemed more relaxed. I increased the frequency of exercises without getting breathless. Everyday my external oxygen was reduced to see how my saturation levels could remain naturally. It was a slow but steady climb but still not up to the required levels. My oxygen saturation was hovering around 90% instead of the minimum required 95%.
Doctors were sure that it will improve as my other reports & parameters were improving. On their prodding all my waking hours was spending on breathing & proning exercises. Prone exercise by lying down on stomach & sleeping on sides, especially left side, was very beneficial in improving my oxygen saturation.
After 16 days I saw daylight as I was shifted from Covid 19 isolation ICU ward to a non covid ward. From the windows I could see people moving, cars, & other activity of a normal life. It was such a relief to see life moving. Time had stood still & life seemed to hang in balance in the isolation ward. I was still on minimal external oxygen support. Doctor attending me assured that I will be discharged in 2 days with a condition that I had to continue external oxygen support at home for atleast a month.
After 3 weeks I was discharged from hospital. It was for the first time in weeks that I was without external oxygen support for nearly 2 hours it took for me to reach home. My house is on the 1st floor. I was confident that I could easily climb the stairs but I felt very weak & shaky as I stepped out of the car.
First step I took to climb the stairs seemed to drain out all my energy. My legs were wobbly & I had no strength to take another step. I had to be supported & pushed from behind & nearly carried by my son. Breathless & gasping for breath I managed to enter my house. I could barely stand & collapsed on the sofa. I was immediately put on external oxygen support. Within half an hour my oxygen saturation was under control.
At home I was on external oxygen support for nearly 20 days. First 10 days I was so weak that I had to be assisted to perform my normal functions. My wife was constantly on her toes assisting & looking after my needs. By God’s grace my health was improving & gradually my external oxygen support was weaned away. Fervent prayers & good wishes of my family, friends & well-wishers helped immensely in my recovery. My health improved but till date I don’t feel as fit as I was pre covid-19.
By God’s grace,
during my ailment & hospital stay, I got some practical life lessons which
I had read in religious books & was preached in sermons but we don’t follow.
I learnt that these lessons really work in real life.
1. We should feel others pain & have empathy for others
problems. This helps in diverting our mind from our problems/pain. This
also helps in reducing our own trauma when we see & feel pain of others.
2. To face a bigger problem to reduce pain of initial problem. Suffering
of other patients & their condition took my thoughts away from my own
ailment.
3. Acceptance of your situation. This helped in not
getting agitated at my condition thus helping in improving my health & not
aggravating it.
3. Treasure of Good Relatives, Friends & Well-wishers. Ultimately
the only wealth that helps are the fervent Prayers & Good Wishes of the
Gems we have in the form of relatives, friends & well-wishers.
https://prosenpoems30.blogspot.com/search/label/MOTIVATIONAL
Click the link below for my Motivational Book "PERCEPTION-WHY ME" in Prose n Poems prosenpoems30::https://prosenpoems30.blogspot.com/search/label/PERCEPTION%20WHY%20ME
x
