Octogenarian back home after making a full recovery

Two members of 84-year-old’s family were also admitted

Tamil Nadu, Chennai, 11/04/2020, For City : COVID-19 : (From left) Three patients (man in red tee shirt (Sriram), his grandmother in wheelchair (Devasena) and his mother in red saree (Selvi) who also works as a lab technician in the same hospital being discharged from the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital after two tests returned negative for COVID-19 gets a special send-off from hospital authorities on Saturday. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam / The Hindu

More than a fortnight after she tested positive, the recovery of an octogenarian from COVID-19 has turned into a story of hope.

As P. Vasanthamani, dean of the Government Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) Hospital, from where the octogenarian and two of her family members were discharged, puts it: “Not everything about COVID-19 has to be about fear, as 99% persons survive it.”

One of the oldest patients in the State — the 84-year-old — was discharged from the hospital on April 9. A diabetic with hypertension, she came to the hospital for a follow-up on Saturday. As she thanked the doctors and hospital staff, they cheered her on with applause.

It all started when her 23-year-old grandson, studying in London, returned home last month.

His 54-year-old mother developed symptoms, and both were admitted to KMC on March 24. “We lifted samples from both of them. While the sample returned positive for the mother, it was negative for him. So, we repeated the test after 48 hours and this time, his sample returned positive for COVID-19,” Dr. Vasanthamani said.

His grandmother too developed symptoms, and was admitted to KMC on March 25. She tested positive for COVID-19. “The presence of two of her family members in the isolation facility helped her cope with the disease,” Dr. Vasanthamani said.

“Will anything happen to us? This was the first question that the 54-year-old patient asked me. All three of them have recovered without complications. There is no need to be scared about COVID-19. Let us look at 99% of cases in which persons have survived COVID-19,” she added.

While the mother and son were discharged on April 6 and 8, respectively, after two consecutive samples tested negative, the octogenarian was discharged on April 9. “We have advised them a 14-day quarantine at home, and wear a mask at home too. We have told them to eat healthy food,” she said.