When Dharamnath Singh and nine of his family members tested positive for the coronavirus disease, his world came crashing down.
The
59-year-old had already lost his sister-in-law, the first victim in
north Bengal, to the respiratory illness that makes people like him more
susceptible.
Ten members of the family tested positive soon after Singh’s 44-year-old sister-in-law died on March 30, a day after testing positive for Covid-19.
She
had gone to Chennai alone on March 7 and returned with her daughter on
March 19 in a Chennai-Bagdogra flight. On March 20, she visited a local
doctor with a cough and high fever before being admitted in the North
Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) where she died.
The head of a business family in Kalimpong town and nine others were
brought to Siliguri and admitted to NBMCH and later shifted to a private
nursing home that the government has taken over for treatment of
Covid-19 patients.
“When I and other members of the family tested
positive, I initially thought the world had come to an end. I soon
realised that the virus has to be defeated and for that we need
determination. I am home now and free again,” Singh said while speaking
to HT.
“Instead of being afraid of the virus people should stick to
discipline and social distancing. The virus can be defeated with sheer
determination and will power,” he said.
However, the head of a
business family in Kalimpong town fought the deadly virus alongside
Kavya, his three-year-old granddaughter, and walked out the nursing
home with the child on Saturday afternoon.
Diabetes, kidney transplant
After spending 12 days at NBMCH and later at the nursing home, Singh
and his granddaughter tested negative to Covid-19 in three back-to-back
tests.
“Positive thinking, determination, will power, discipline
and social distancing are the mantras in the war against the
coronavirus,” Singh said.
He had undergone a kidney transplant in
2006 and suffers from high blood sugar, a condition that makes many
people, especially senior citizens, succumb to co-morbidity.
In fact, the West Bengal government is reluctant to attribute these deaths to Covid-19 alone.
‘Be positive’
Julie,
Kavya’s mother and Singh’s older daughter-in-law, also returned home on
Saturday. She was not infected but had to stay with the child.
“Initially we were scared. Had we remained scared and did nothing to
bring out the positive energy from within we would not have come out of
the nursing home so soon,” Julie said.
“One should not be afraid.
If you are afraid it becomes difficult to fight a crisis. There are
doctors, and even common people, to help you,” she said.
“Kavya was always in a playful mood during the treatment,” she added.
Singh has the same attitude and some advice.
“One must be firm,
keep social distance and have lukewarm water regularly to defeat the
virus. If you have the symptoms, please don’t hide it. Tell others and
go for treatment. There are people to help you. One can recover in 15 to
20 days,” he said.
“Though they tested positive, members of my family did not have the typical symptoms,” said Singh.
“We
are extremely happy that the eldest amongst us and who underwent kidney
transplant has been released. This sends out a positive message when
people are looking at coronavirus as a killer,” said Bijay, Singh’s
younger son who also underwent treatment at the nursing home.
On
Saturday, the entire team of doctors and nurses who attended to the
family, was present when Singh and Kavya left for their home in
Kalimpong. This was the first time that patients were released in north
Bengal after treatment.
Bijay, his mother, uncle and the family’s maid were discharged Sunday evening after their subsequent tests came negative.
In Kalimpong, 46 people, including another member of the family, are in still quarantine.
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