by Abdaal Ahmad Bhat
The baby’s relentless weeping and frantic babbling in the next room made her weep bitterly.This is the painful reality of the pandemic precipitated by the unprecedented spread of the deadly microscopic organism.
As I broke my 21st Ramzan fast on the evening of May 4, I started sneezing profusely alarming the arrival of the invisible virus, which I had dodged for over a year.
By the time I offered special Ramzan prayers (Taraweeh), my body had started showing all the symptoms characteristic of upper respiratory tract infection. As a hypochondriac, I thought that the dreaded virus had finally caught up with me. However, optimism took over my pessimism and I didn’t get tested. A few days passed without any significant change in my condition. It was on the fourth day at the time of Suhoor (pre-dawn meal time in Ramzan) that I felt heaviness in the lower lobes of my lungs.
The next day, it was Jumat-ul-Vida. I hurriedly offered prayers in a nearby mosque where physical distancing was observed. As I finished, I called up a doctor friend to tell him about the symptoms I had developed. Acting on his advice, I took a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT). I waited with a bated breath for the test result. The red line near the letter ‘T’ appeared announcing that I was now Covid-19 positive. The bio-bubble I had built meticulously and methodically over a year had been breached by the invisible enemy.
The test result didn’t unnerve me at all. I came back and isolated myself from my family. For me keeping myself away from kids was the toughest job. I rang up a relative who is a senior doctor and has fought the virus during the first wave of infection. He prescribed medication to battle the virus. He asked me to keep an eye on the oxygen level in my blood.
After breaking my 24th fast, I started my medication against the virus. I popped four pills along with keeping my body hydrated with warm water laced with the extracts of Ginger, Turmeric, Cinnamon, Black pepper and Lemon. Also, fresh fruits, dry fruits, bundles of masks, gloves and hand sanitisers were stashed in my room. I also had a separate room and washroom along with entrances marked and red lines drawn to check the further spread of the lethal virus.
Self-isolation meant that I wasn’t able to be with my two kids. I was particularly concerned about my son who had slept beside me when the virus had made its way into my body. His body was weak post three complex surgeries which he underwent when he was only five months old. However, by the grace of Almighty Allah (SWT), my son and daughter tested negative. I sent my son to a relative’s house to keep him safe.
The next day my better half started showing symptoms and she too isolated herself in a different room. Her isolation was heart-wrenching as she couldn’t feed our eight-month-old baby girl. The baby’s relentless weeping and frantic babbling in the next room made her weep bitterly . This is the painful reality of the pandemic precipitated by the unprecedented spread of the deadly microscopic organism.
I received a barrage of phone calls from my relatives and friends. Different potions were prescribed by different relatives based on their experience. I drank a lot of these potions besides the prescribed medicine.
“A balanced diet is essential for the body to fight the powerful microbe,” one of my cousin sisters who is a Gynaecologist said.
Also, proteins in the form of mutton, chicken and eggs formed the major portion of my diet plan which I had to follow religiously.
Covid-19 is the biggest challenge mankind has ever faced in the recorded history. We may have to live with it for quite some time. No conspiracy theory stands ground in view of the fact that over three million people all over the globe have been mercilessly devoured by the fast mutating virus. Don’t be complacent. Don’t lower your guard. Don’t let the ‘Enigma of Biology’ annihilate the highly evolved organism on earth.
Staying positive after getting positive goes a long way in helping your body to tackle the Covid-19 onslaught. Don’t let the invisible microbe torment your nervous system before it actually traverses through your respiratory system. Mass inoculation is the only way of keeping the virus at bay. ‘Vaccine hesitancy’ won’t save us from the perils of the Covid-19 scourge, ‘vaccine urgency’ will surely do. Get your jab and move on…!
(The author is Assistant Professor, Government Degree College, Awantipora. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Kashmir Life. Photographs used in this opinion are not directly linked to its contents.)
