Chennai: They battled Covid in ICUs and are now back to normal lives

CHENNAI: In the second week of May, M Hasan, a doctor from Periyar Nagar in Chennai, experienced acute breathing trouble and was put on highflow oxygen support along with hundreds of Covid-19 patients at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
Back then, three other doctors had died and for Hasan it was a cause of concern. But three weeks later, he has recovered and is set to resume duty on Saturday.
“Though the future complications of the disease are still under study, I have no fear and I completely believe that I have recovered well,” said Hasan, who works at the medicine department of Government Peripheral Hospital at Periyar Nagar.
M Ramasamy, a police inspector residing at Ashok Nagar, said he was worried for the first two days when he ran temperature but never expected that his lungs would be affected. He not only needed respiratory support but also expensive drugs like immuno modulators to recover.
“I wouldn’t have worried much if only I was affected. For no fault of theirs, my daughter and wife, who never stepped out during the lockdown, tested positive because of me. This guilt was running in my mind throughout the treatment period. But now we all have recovered and I would say we have returned to our normal lives,” said Ramasamy.
Ramasamy’s doctors attributed the recovery to his strict protein-rich diet and breathing exercises (using three-ball respirometers) he did after getting discharged.
His neighbours too were supportive in making food for the family during the recovery period and checked on them at regular intervals to ensure that the family was hale and hearty.
But not all survivors were as lucky as Ramasamy. Rajkumar, a recovered patient from Trichy, said that he still faces stigma.
“I lost my sense of taste. I was able to eat properly only a week after discharge. It was all about will power,” said Rajkumar, who regained half of his lost weight now and was back to office in Wednesday.
“People should not fear and see it as a viral infection which can be treated well at our government hospitals. I’m also a living testimony to the fact that our GHs can provide the best of treatments. But at the same time people should ensure that they don’t ignore early symptoms as delaying medical attention could lead to complications,” said Dr Hasan.