Music teacher successfully battles ‘post-Covid pneumonia’ despite testing -ve
LUCKNOW: Amitabh Srivastava, 51, a severe diabetic, had recurring bouts of breathlessness, despite the fact that he tested negative for Covid-19.
Panic set in when the pulse oximeter read: 60 Spo2 (oxygen saturation) level. A subsequent chest x-ray showed heavily infected lungs.
“The doctor, who was attending on me so far, straightaway advised hospitalisation. He said this was a case of post-Covid pneumonia and he wouldn’t be able to handle it. But when did I get Covid? My report was negative,” Srivasatava, a music teacher with Lucknow’s Army Public School, recalled.
It was then that he realised that he had been running high fever for a few days before the oxygen level dipped.
“Since the fever came accompanied by stomach pain, the focus was on pain management and when a subsequent ultrasound had revealed stones in the gall bladder, the fever was linked to my stomach condition. So the Covid-19 situation was missed completely, more so with a negative RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) report,” he said.
After initial anxiety, Srivastava’s wife and his two daughters decided to do their bit.
“We knew that the hospitals were full. The scene was not good. More so, with a negative RT-PCR, no Covid facility would admit me. Not many Covid facilities were there anyway. So all the women in my family pooled in their effort to arrange an oxygen cylinder. Subsequently, a private medical facility offering home isolation treatment was contacted,” Srivasatav said.
“Before advising hospitalisation, my doctor who had attended on me for the stomach issue had, however, put me on a course of Covid medication — the entire drill of ivermectin, azithromycin, vitamins. Simultaneously, the family arranged oxygen cylinder and contacted a doctor who advised medication to ease my chest congestion and infection. We also started the home isolation treatment pack,” he said.
“The home isolation facility for Rs 5,999 got me a dietician who advised me on my diet. A doctor would keep in touch regularly to take health updates and a pack, mostly containing Ayurvedic supplements and some other useful things like vapouriser and spirometer, too came. In about four days, with oxygen support for a few days, I had started feeling much better,” he recalled.
“Believe me, family support works like magic,” he said.
“Today, if I am able to tell you all this, after the oxygen level falling down to 60, it’s all because of the Almighty above, the gods who wear white coats and who advised me medication on phone and my family. They got me a new life. I believe the main thing is no matter what the situation, we shouldn’t panic. God helps in ways we are unable to understand,” he said.
Now, what is he doing to keep fit?
“I am a music teacher. I do riyaaz, chant Om daily. I stretch the Om chant till as long as my lungs can hold. This is, to me, a good therapy too,” he said.
We knew that the hospitals were full. The scene was not good. More so, with a negative RT-PCR, no Covid facility would admit me. Not many Covid facilities were there anyway. AMITABH SRIVASTAVA