On March 23, when 25-year old Vikram (name changed) from Tagarapuvalasa came to know that his throat and nasal swabs tested COVID-19 positive, he was shattered and went into a depression. He thought he was nearing his end and lying on the bed at an isolation ward, he started to recall his good old days that he had spent with his family. He would talk to himself and wonder whether he would come out of it alive.
However, constant cheering up and morale boosting by the doctors and nurses who attended on him slowly started to turn him optimistic. After 19 days of treatment, he is back on his feet and is raring to pursue his unfinished dreams.
He is now a source of inspiration for many others in the ward, showing that self-confidence and positive attitude would work wonders in overpowering the virus.
Self-isolation
After returning from Birmingham, England on March 17, when many foreign returnees were reporting positive for novel coronavirus, Vikram decided to self-isolate to make sure that he did not infect others and the decision was supported by the family. Later, he volunteered for a test and got himself admitted to a hospital.
“My family members’ prayers and constant motivation gave me the strength to overcome the sickness. I am indebted to my friends who kept me engaged through chats, updates and games over the phone and drove my depression away,” he remarked.
‘Indebted to ward team’
The fact that the survival rate of people in the 20-40 age group was very high, which everybody had kept reminding him of, gave him a lot of confidence to fight, he told The Hindu .
The 25-year-old said he would never forget the services of the doctors, nurses, sanitary and other staff in the Government Hospital for Chest & Communicable Diseases (GHCCD). “The staff were fearless and kind at heart. They kept my morale high by saying that I could pull it off and would be discharged soon. They prayed for my recovery and treated me like a member of their family, which I would never forget in my life,” said Vikram.
