Near life experience
Post 20,21 and 22: 14/11/2020; 21/11/2020 and 28/11/2020
Near life experience…14/11; 21/11 and 28/11 of 2020
I could not post my blogs on these three Saturdays, as I was seriously ill with Covid 19 and admitted to a big Corporate Hospital with the reputation of being the finest in South Delhi and maybe in India. I had tested Covid 19 positive on 28th October, 2020 and decided to quarantine myself at home, but by 2nd November, it became clear that I was unable to maintain Oxygen concentration of 92% even. Accordingly my son Prashant took me to the Large Corporate Hospital, where I had been getting my other treatments also. I am a Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) beneficiary and on that basis was admitted after a few formalities. I had to wait in the car for about and hour and a half before I was allotted a bed in the general ward. Since CGHS is a cashless scheme, no deposit was asked for and the whole process was quite hassle-free.
The ward was quite busy, there were a few nursing staff but there was lot of going coming, noise and activity.
During night I felt that I was not getting enough Oxygen, I tried to call the nurse but soon it became clear that there was no nursing staff. Shouting and making noises did not help. I was aware that Oxygen level was low. The nurse was absent for about 45–50 minutes. Once she came she realised that my condition was critical. The Oxygen level was at 53 % saturation, while desired is at least 92-94 %. She alerted others and then it became a situation. Actually a bad situation. There was flurry of activity. My very ordinary oxygen mask was replaced with a better cannula, again with a still better mask and then with the best Bipap mask available.
My Oxygen level was stuck at 53, for what I felt was a very very long time. A lot of Covid 19 patients die of low Oxygen levels which impact the vital organs, that is my understanding. I was sensing that Oxygen level was not rising but then beyond a point, it did start rising slowly and gradually it reached 92–94 % concentration, a perfectly acceptable level. I was aware that I had survived a bad situation. This was the near life experience or near Death experience!
Same day I was transferred to the HDU or High Dependency Unit or a small ICU.
And again transferred to yet another ICU the full blown real ICU, which I suppose was better equipped to deal with cases like mine. I was in ICU for 22 days. No one is permitted to enter an ICU, but then Prashant, my son ,was also a patient in the same hospital and in the same Covid 19 wing of the hospital. He would visit me at least 5–6 times a day. It was such a relief to see him, every time he visited. It gave me lot of strength and peace of mind to see him in hospital garb, with a rather long upper, in a very thin frame. Even he had lost weight!
I was getting lot of medicines and some strong steroids, which caused onset of increased sugar in the system. So before every meal I was tested for sugar and then there would follow an insulin injection! I was never a diabetic before. I hope once these drugs are stopped, I again would not need insulin.
Life in the ICU was hectic in the sense that always something or the other was happening. Fixing of cannula for pushing injections, collection of blood samples, feeding of tablets, feeding of syrups, somebody or the other waking you up at about every 45–50 minutes. The cycle would start at an ungodly 4 am, when two people would come, wake me from a good sleep, strip me of all clothes, would give me a complete rinse with wet tissues, change my pajama and the top, issued by the hospital. Own clothes were just not allowed. Then they would change the bed sheet, by rolling me one way, fit the bed sheet in half the width, push the remaining sheet almost under me and turn me the other side and a fresh sheet has been fixed. They would tie a knot on each corner and then all the four corners would be tucked under the mattress and the bed sheet is securely fixed! Despite the odd time I would enjoy the rinse and looked forward to it. At about 6 somebody else would wake me for some other procedure and a new day would begin. I would brush my teeth and be ready to eat the breakfast at about 7 in the morning. Breakfast was the best meal of the day. It always had a lukewarm cup of tea, fresh fruit- surprisingly the fruits were very fresh and always sweet. It essentially had watermelon, orange, papaya and some other fruit, cut in finger shape, easily eatable with the wooden fork provided, An egg, some dalia in milk and vegetable with idli, saviyan or upma with lot of currypatta and rai. At times there were small besan cheela with a thin filling of masala. This was my favourite!
There would be a soup at 10 and lunch at about 12.30. In the evening a cup of tea with a dhokla, vada pao, a vegetable sandwich or some interesting variation. Dinner at 7. Lunch and dinner were almost fixed with rice, chicken always, Dal or rajma or choolae and three roties. The roties were very well cooked, all very uniform. I am sure they were using a roti making device. There would be curds in a small cup in lunch. Dinner had some sweet dish like kheer etc.
Life was very lonely. Extremely lonely. Only nursing staff, who were so busy, there was no time to chat. An elderly gentleman on bed next to mine was in a rather bad shape. He was a distinguished looking person but he expired, absolutely alone, no body to talk to him, no body to keep a hand on his forehead, nobody to run his or her fingers through his hair, absolutely helpless. It depressed me a lot. My sense of loneliness multiplied many fold. It was depressing! He was taken away on a trolley with red mattress, faded, cracked and old.
I was given Remdesivir Injections (5 of them, one a day), Plasma therapy followed by IVIG therapy (INTRAVENUS IMMUNOGLOBULENS commonly). For several days there was no improvement but on 18th November, the doctor told me that I had crossed the difficult situation and was now on road to recovery. Before that for several days the tide could have turned either way!! पता नही था कि ऊँट किस करवट बैठेगा! I was advised to lie on my side and was told to sleep on my stomach, as it was most helpful. I always compiled 100% with instructions, without a second thought.
On 13th and 14th November, I was tested for Covid 19 and in both these tests I tested negative. It was such a great relief! Now started the process of reducing my dependence on externally administered Oxygen. I was being fed Oxygen at 60 litres of Oxygen per hour, to maintain an Oxygen concentration of about 95% in the blood. This was brought down in small steps to finally at 4 and two litres per hour.
I was made to sit in a chair on 29th and 30th November and was also made to walk some 50–60 steps on 30th November 2020 and slightly more on first December 2020. Suddenly on 2nd morning, I was told that I was being discharged!!!!!
It involved lot of waiting for accounts to be prepared. In my case it was 100% cashless but still there were some small items that were not covered under CGHS scheme and I had to make a payment of about Rs. 5500–6000. To give you an idea of how costly the treatment is, I had received a message, by mistake, on 22nd November that I should contact the accounts section as my bill had run to a Rs. 10 lakh+ amount, that too with zero deposit! I stayed another 10 days and I think the bill would have run to much more. Thank God, for the CGHS!!
I reached home on 2nd December 2020 at about 8 p.m. Ansa, my wife, Aali (Dipali, affectionately called Aali), my daughter in law and Prashali, my 11 years old grand daughter were there to receive me. Aali had illuminated the front balcony with small bulb strings as though it was Diwali. Actually it felt like Diwali to me. Prashali had prepared a beautiful piece in three dimensional plastic to say ‘Love You’. She is a very lovely, mature, loving child. It was a bliss to reach home.
Thank God for saving me from all the hazards!
My ghazal blog would appear on Saturday the 12th December 2020, exactly at 10 am and hopefully would continue up to my next birthday with about 50 ghazals. I intend to publish all these ghazal blogs in a book form! God willing!!
Hope you get an idea of the life of a Covid 19 patient in a corporate hospital!
May God keep you safe from Covid 19. Stay Home Stay Safe.
