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In July, my mother, sister and I tested positive for COVID-19. Except my father and our house help, all other members of the family had contracted the virus.
While my mother was hospitalised on 21 July, my sister and I isolated at home when our tests returned positive two days later ie, 23 July.
What we thought would be the toughest phase of our lives, passed smoothly as my father looked after us at home and assumed charge of everything. Here’s our experience of battling coronavirus and what we learnt about family unity.
Monitored Symptoms Closely
On 16 July, my father returned home for a 6-day long vacation. Little did he know that these 6 days will extend to one month. My mother was already not keeping well, she had body pain and mild fever. We didn’t ignore the fact that these were symptoms of coronavirus and after discussion, we got our mother tested for it on 18 July.
Since her symptoms were mild, the doctors advised that she be quarantined at home and wait for the report. Since we all were prepared and assessed this is a possibility, all four of us handled it well. The next day she was taken to an isolation ward. My sister and I were isolated in a room to maintain distance from our father.
He prepared a food menu, gave us tea and other kadhas (herbal concoction) at designated intervals. He diligently looked after the house and us, taking care of sanitisation, social distance and took all precautions.
Meanwhile, he also kept speaking to our mother who was away in the hospital to keep her motivated in these hard times.
We got into a routine and this continued for 8 days, after which my mother returned home from the hospital. While she was still in isolation, my father continued to look after all three of us.
Fought COVID With Precautions & Positivity
We tested negative on 6 August but continued home quarantine till 17 August as advised by the authorities. The biggest lesson is to keep your spirits up and fight the infection mentally.
“I used to feel scared. Three people in my house are infected, what if it gets worse? But there is no need to be afraid of the disease and one must fight it instead. We can only fight when we are together. Everyone needs to be focussed on taking precautions like social distancing sanitisation, drinking hot water or decoction. All this should be done.”Promod Kumar Singh, Father
Having passed these 28 days smoothly, our family stayed united and came out of it stronger. All four of us kept motivating each other so that everyone felt better.
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