It has been two months since we tested positive – me, my wife and our daughter. Now I am back to treating patients, going on rounds in the COVID ward and ICU, doing my bit to fight this pandemic.
By Dr. Abu Nadeem
On July 24, I was on duty at the hospital when the fever started setting in. I called my wife to make arrangements to isolate myself at home. I did my best to stay away from my family.
On July 26, a colleague tested positive for COVID-19. We had had dinner together a few days earlier. This raised all the red flags. Sure enough, I tested positive too, and so did my wife and daughter. As our symptoms were mild, the Medical Superintendent at our hospital – Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital in Aligarh advised us to isolate at home.
Things soon went south. Epigastric pain, so severe that it felt like a cardiac incident, forced me to get myself admitted. When the pain subsided, fever took over. The mercury did not budge from 102-103, not even with intravenous paracetamol. And with fever came continuous cough and hiccups. Despite all the sedatives in the medications and injections given to me, an hour of sleep is what I managed, across two nights.
At the hospital, we have a separate isolation ward for doctors, with a few rooms. But since those rooms do not have a regularly posted doctor or nurse, those who are slightly critical, or need continuous monitoring, are admitted in the main COVID ward itself. So was I, for four days, until my condition stabilised, after which I was shifted to the doctors’ area where I stayed until my tests finally came negative. I spent 12 days as a COVID patient at the same hospital where I treated COVID patients.
The COVID ward is an extremely traumatic experience. The parameters of the critical patients around me had all the signs of impending death. Being a doctor, I could make sense of what was happening. But imagine the psychological impact this can have on the common man – seeing people die left, right and centre. You wouldn’t help but wonder if it’s your turn next!
Things are different now, from what they were in the initial months. The disease has spread so much that isolating ourselves the way we used to, is just impossible. Following precautions is the only practical way now. COVID-19 death rate has been low in our hospital, and in our country. I personally feel the use of Remdesivir (antiviral medication) has helped in bringing it down. Although it is a matter of debate and trials, I have seen definite improvements in my patients. Those requiring 15 litres of oxygen support would never survive, but now they do.
It has been two months since we tested positive – me, my wife and our daughter. The infection spared my family from its worst effects. Sense of smell, however, still eludes my wife. I could only join back work a month after testing negative. Now I am back on board, treating my patients, conducting rounds in COVID ward and ICU, doing my bit to fight this pandemic.
(As told to Tariq Hashmat)
