New Age Vanvas

It all started with a farewell party – mostly or maximum a day or two after that. The Covid cases were increasing in Pune drastically so we (me and my teammates) thought it will be safer to have a farewell at a colleague’s house than go outside someplace. Irony! Less than a week later 5 out of the 8 of us were down with flu. On testing, all 5 of us came out Covid Positive!

I don’t know if I should count the day when I had the symptoms as day 1, or the day I got the positive report. I am going with the latter, because that’s when the emotional nightmare started. I actually thought I was prepared for it, kind of expected it. But when the report actually came positive I went into a shock mode – it was a nightmare come true, I was freaked out, vulnerable and scared. The one thing that I was trying to protect myself from for the past 1 year, with all the precautions I took since last lockdown a little more than a year ago, it all seemed to come crashing down. I can’t describe the emotions that I went through in those 15-20 mins of initial panic, the disbelief, the denial till I finally reached a stage of weary acceptance.

Covid is a testing virus – on a physical level, most symptoms keep turning up every other day for first few days, finally stabilizing to cough and cold. Since it is a virus, the medications don’t really cure any of the symptoms immediately – the cure has to be supplemented by home remedies like steam, gargle, kadha, hydration and rest. Half of the day goes in the remedy routine. I don’t think I suffered much due to symptoms. They were nominal on most days. A bit of body ache, fatigue, cold, cough, breathlessness. Lack of taste, smell and sleep were the worst symptoms I faced. But the quarantine, isolation, lack of human contact was what unnerved me the most. At such times you realize that all the WhatsApp and phones and social media of the world cannot and will not replace the need for human touch and physical meetings.

But during these days I realized my real strength, my actual achievement – my relationships. I am blessed with a strong support system. My uncle is a doctor and currently treating Covid patients in various hospitals. He is the one who prescribed me medications, took out time in his busy schedule to check up on me, my symptoms, my oxygen levels each day to ensure I was recovering. My family, my teammates, my boss and my friends became my pillar in these testing times. They gave me a call or dropped me a message almost each day to check up on me, ensuring I am having medicines on time, recovering well, cracking jokes to kill my boredom. They ensured on most days that the isolation did not get to me or affect me a lot emotionally.

I am still on a recovery mode in the aftermath of Covid. But I can share a few learnings that I gained during those tough 14 days. 

1) Getting tested positive is going to be tough: How much ever you prepare yourself for it, initially it is going to overwhelm you. I would say, let the initial fear and vulnerability come out. Do not force yourself to be ok with it immediately. But calm down and accept it. Currently Covid is highly contagious, but for majority cases it is also curable by home isolation. So do not panic.

2) Keep yourself engaged with things that make you happy: I continued working because I was physically able to, and it helped restore a sense of normalcy and sanity in me. So work, read, write, watch movies or series, rest, draw, reconnect with your old lost hobbies. If your mind remains blank, there is a possibility that it will let the situation control you.

3) Prioritize yourself: This maybe nature’s and your body’s way of telling you to take care. So eat and sleep well, take medicines on time; take steam, saline gargles, hot tea, hot kadha; keep yourself well hydrated. 

4) Breathe: During the second week of quarantine, I was taught breathing exercises to improve my lung capacity. I don’t know at what rate it recovered me, but it certainly helped me calm my mind those 3-4 times of the day. Not to sound poetic, but that really gave me the feeling that I am alive and in the moment.

5) Connect with your loved ones: I cannot stress this enough. I feel an immense sense of gratitude for the support system I am blessed with, who never let me feel that I was in this alone. They were there for me, no matter how far they were living. Relations of heart transcend physical distances between you.

Overall I would say, Covid tests not just physical immunity and strength, but also your emotional strength. But it is nothing that you cannot overcome. Especially if you are young, have no comorbidities, you can recover without most severe symptoms. So take precautions, take care of yourself but do not panic in case you test positive. Be strong, and keep yourself mentally positive as well - you will recover.