They say you experience the pain when you face it!!

Original Article was written on Oct 13th 2020.

I hope this article would give insights on my journey of what happened for a month when I tested COVID-19 positive. Please read the complete article till the end if you want to know how to save money.

As a common man, when I wrote my first article (on COVID-19) as well I real felt there was nothing much to worry for and as people were starting to wander about with no fear. But they say when you experience it, you get to know the pain and I would say it is absolutely true in my case. With all due precautions we used to take, it was a shocker of my life and a lesson that I will carry it for many more years to come.

When I got tested, India had more than 52 lakhs cases registered. The next day when I received my report which mentioned Positive, I had nightmares during day as well. I was like, What about my family members, are they positive? Should they get a test done? Will an ambulance land at my door step now? Will they seal my house? What would my neighbours think of us? Oh my god too many questions to which I had literally no answers, but just scouting for it.

Before I gave the SWAB test i.e. (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction commonly known as RT PCR Test), I had no symptoms of COVID-19, except for a pro-longed intermittent fever for 5 days i.e. I had no cough, no cold, I had taste and smell as well. My first 5 days too were under medication from a doctor who informed me that I had regular fever to which I was prescribed medicines. These 5 days were like hell, I would be like I had fever for a couple of hours with tremendous shivering and post this for the next phase of 4 to 5 hours I would be like nothing happened to me at the first place and I have got better, which I used to literally inform my family "I am cured, no need to worry!". These two phases repeated for 5 days and that is when I was directed to take the very own RT PCR Test for which India is famous for.

Post the test and testing positive being asymptomatic with only one symptom i.e. Fever, I medicated with different medicines this time as it required to cure the infection. But guess what, my illness so called fever did not come down on both the phases even after 2 days of the new medication. My oxygen levels too started to fall from 95 to 90 which became a worrying factor. On top of this, you keep getting calls from Apthamitra, BBMP, some tom dick and harry asking your about your illness, giving precautions, telling about what needs to be done at least every 15 to 20 mins once. All this only to increase your pain and no gain.

Now comes the new and interesting phase, as the fever does not want to subdue I had to be taken to the hospital (for confidentiality purposes, I not naming the hospital) and this was my 7th day from the start of my illness and 2nd day from the day I was tested positive. Hospitals are never pleasant as everyone says! On top of this, everyone is an astronaut now with all that fancy gear protecting themselves. It is just not the doctors or the nurses, even the ward boys, cleaning staff are in the same uniform. No prizes for the guesses, yes I couldn't recognise a single face for the entire tenure of my stay.

Day 1 at hospital, I enter the hospital when the entire Bangalore was pouring heavy and to add, my phase 1 of fever very active. Now comes the admission process, wow I should congratulate the Indian Policies for this, we have a very lengthy process and had to wait to be taken to room for at least an hour as the process needs to be completed, without which you will not be allowed inside. My wife and father just waiting for the so called admission specialists to help them out and do the process peacefully and fast which was literally an hour. Now I being a COVID patient, I cannot sit anywhere as well as the hospital is afraid of the post trauma that they need to undergo i.e. sanitisation procedures, so I had to stand with my Phase - 1 of illness in that chill of rain pouring outside.

Finally all the process was done and I get a bed to sleep in a Deluxe Ward. One word, it was heaven for me to get some place to sleep. What comes next? I need to wait for the right senior doctor to come for administering me. Alas! there he is after a couple of hours me on the bed. As I have been administered by a doctor (for confidentiality purposes) and he has given a prescribed some medicines on my name, which is not shown or informed to me. He just says you need to get some I.V. (Intra Venous Injections) which will be started immediately and that's it. Wow! that was exciting to me and thought a couple of days is what it is and then I could head home.

So my I.V.'s started after a 3 to 4 hours of the doctor's visit as the nurses had to find the duty doctor, who in turn needs to rewrite the prescriptions to the pharmacist and then the pharmacist deliver, post which the duty doctor needs to explain the nursing staff on how to administer it on me. For the clarity per say, I would explain how a I.V. is administered. You get injected with a Vein Catheter (refer to image, it is a 2 to 3 inch metal syringe which is poked directly into your vein mostly administered on the hand, with a small tube on top of the hand for either drawing blood or sending the medicine directly into the vein) and the procedure was pretty painful inspite of informing the nursing team to do it slowly. A few test tube samples of blood was drawn and then three I.V.'s of at least 8 to 10ml given directly and continued with some saline induced with other I.V's to start of my procedure. The day went ahead this way twice and successful it ended with a lot of drama and action.

New start to Day 2 thinking afresh, post the I.V.'s all I could do was sleep. It was morning 5AM, a person walks into the room and says 'I need to collect blood sample', and I am stunned to be woken for this and what happened to the samples which were collected yesterday? Then comes troubles, sets of people administering you the entire day for Pulse, Oxygen Levels, BP and Sugar for at least 30 mins once. When I enquired about this, got to know they are all different people i.e. Doctor, Nurses, Apthamitra people, BBMP guys and also lab technicians. Oh my god why so many? With all this action I am still administered with the I.V.'s directly and also through saline. In between all this a X-Ray, ECG was also done. Guessing that, because of some many medicines I was induced to sleep regularly, but with all the disturbances I couldn't.

The pain continues, Day 3 continues with the same procedure of Day 2 i.e. disturbance, I.V.'s and more. Did I say more? yes, read on to understand. I felt genuinely more cured than before on Day 3 after all the I.V.'s as I was in my conscious without getting much of sleep and also had no fever or any other symptoms for almost 3/4 of the day. In evening, my family gets a call from the pharmacy asking them to pay up Rs. 30,000/- for some 6 injections which will be starting to given now. They didn't know what to do, but came and paid in all. Post this I get informed from my family about the injections, and what are these? Only to my surprises, these were the COVID I.V.'s and the one's given before weren't. So if I was cured without the COVID I.V.'s why administering it now? But there isn't a senior doctor in the hospital to answer this question and the rest of the staff including duty doctors are saying "Sir, this was prescribed to you on Day -1, but it was not available in the entire of Bangalore, so it was not administered on you". Is this even a reason that could be taken by me for getting the I.V.'s? I was totally fine and my question to them was simple "How will this help me now? I already feel like running without any help, as my pulse and oxygen levels are as per required by a healthy person?" and guess what (no prizes, pun unintended) no answer, except the one written above. As I rejected the intent of it, they did not administer it and slept the day with so much puzzling around my head.

Day 4, starts with the same drawing of blood, people administering me for all the nonsense and also the regular I.V.'s which were administered for the first three days. Then I connected with a friend who is doctor for a suggestion about the COVID I.V.'s, and his suggestion was only get administered if the blood reports and X-rays say that the infection has not reduced. So I waited to get my answer from the hospital/doctor. It was noon and finally the senior doctor walks into my room and says "I have been informed that you have rejected to get administered for the I.V. and it is totally unto you and we do not want to force it". Really is this an answer I should expect from a senior doctor? It was too intriguing for me and I had to ask "Doc, please explain me the pros and cons for me to take a decision. It just can't be the way you informed me". And I guess this provoked his ego and then explains "Dear, I had written this medicine on Day 1, but it was not available then", my reaction was "Oh Really!", and then he continuous "As we saw the lessions still in the X-Ray, we feel that this will help in curing faster. If still feel it is not required, we are good with it". Isn't this the point they should have made at the first place? And with no second thoughts, I agreed to get it administered and now comes the twist from the doctor "As we are starting these I.V.'s from today, you need to be hospitalised for at least 5 continuous days as these I.V.'s are still in clinical trials (a procedure undertaken by pharmacy companies to get approvals from the right approval authority i.e. ICMR in India) and we are still unsure of the side effects". Oh lord just save me, was a statement I made in myself. So as per directed I.V.'s started and I had to be on the same bed for the next four days as Day 4 for Day 1 for the I.V.

Day 5, started with the banging in the morning with all the hungama and drama. With this the side effects started to show i.e. I got severe gastritis, so I had to be given new I.V.'s for this and also take necessary precautions going forward to avoid with the COVID I.V. This continued till Day 8 i.e. the last of my COVID I.V. and finally the discharge time.

Day 7, as usual everything as above was happening except the the gastritis as precautions were taken. There is a new development, i.e. Vein Catheter gets blocked (in my vein, the WBC has identified a hole due to Vein Catheter and it is blocked by platelets), due to which the I.V.'s that are injected will not flow into the vein. Now the nursing team rushes to change the vein i.e. from right hand to left hand. They took nearly 30 mins to find my vein and inspite of requesting to keep the procedure painless, I get pricked in the worst of my dreams. Pain was high for the entire day due to the prick. Rest as usual

Day 8, my last day at the hospital. Day started as it is with the new pricks for blood draw and the rest of the hungama. And to my miseries, the new location of the Vein Catheter is again blocked due to the over active WBC's in my blood. So what? The Nurse said "Sir, it is your last injection and we need to find a new place to inject as both your hands are now blocked and swollen, through which it cannot be administered". Oh lord, why have you selected me for all this? I had to agree, so with great difficulty and nearly 45 mins of search, they found one in my left arm at the folding location. No surprises, the same painful prick, but this time after the I.V. and removal of Vein Catheter I had a blood clot in the arm near the prick.

Moving on, discharge was supposed to happen only after the senior doctor visits. So I had to wait for him till noon, but he turns up at 1.30 P.M only. He comes and says your relieved and can go home. Is that it? I had to ask what precautions I have take and what medications will be given when at home. He informed I need to be isolated in a well ventilated room for 7 to 8 days, and if I don't see any repeat of the symptoms I would be free from all the bonds. On the medication, it will be part of the Discharge Summary. "Oh Thank You" is what I said with a sigh of relief. Finally the discharge process starts and by 5 P.M. I was out of the hospital.

After moving back to home, I was informed by my family that I need to be room isolated for 14 days as per the duty doctor and it is also been mentioned in on the discharge summary. Seriously! was the expression I had on my face with that frustration as it was already 14 days I had undergone mental pressure of being alone. With this I have received a huge list of medicines that has been administered for the next 30 days which includes Medication against infection, allergy, swelling, capsule inhaler (for lungs), 2 to 3 types of multi-vitamins, calcium, a syrup and on top of this a before food anti-gastritis capsule.

Post all this trouble, my parents were tested positive and admitted to hospital taking the entire pain I went through. I feel the guilt of passing this deadly virus to my family now and have no excuse I could give them, other than share their grief.

At the beginning, when I tested positive, my family did give the RT-PCR test (through BBMP) and everyone tested negative. It was a relief that they were safe. But after a couple of days, my mother had breathing issues and had to be taken to the hospital. On seeing her the doctor advised her to get admitted and administered her to take oxygen. Meanwhile she will be tested again for COVID-19 through RT-PCR and also CT Scan. Her RT-PCR test came negative, but the CT scan showed lessions which confirmed she had been affected. So a similar medication like mine was administered to her, but in a different hospital as there were no beds in the hospital I was staying. She was administered for nearly 7 days and then discharged as her oxygen levels didn't reach as normal.

During my mom's stay at hospital, my father had cough and we didn't want to take a chance. So he gave the RT-PCR test + CT Scan and both came positive for COVID-19. This time, one my mom's friend informed that we can get admitted to the same hospital (private) that she was through BBMP and we don't need to pay for the hospital charges, except pharmacy which does not come under BBMP guidelines i.e. the COVID-19 injections. So we had to pay nearly 1/10th of the cost i.e. pharmacy only (when compared to the costs my mom and I incurred) as he was administered for the injections as he had Blood Pressure, which could go higher if he was not treated at the right time.

Thank god, everyone is back home now and safe. I wish no one in the world undergoes this pain and stay safe, stay healthy. Please opt for government accommodation i.e. from your local municipality (like BBMP) and save yourself from financial crisis.

This article was written in intent of expressing the pain of one goes with the pandemic.