Guilty of Covid-19 until proven otherwise

There’s no good time to get unwell, certainly not during a pandemic. God forbid if you have fever, restlessness, cough or fatigue. But I wasn’t so lucky. I called up a doctor and was asked if I had difficulty in breathing or if I had travelled in the past month. The appointment was fixed after I answered in the negative.

Lockdown times have changed every aspect of life be it working, teaching, learning, conferencing, commerce or dispensation of justice. Rules have changed. The basic tenet of jurisprudence is that one is innocent until proven guilty. Today, every person is guilty of Covid-19 until proven otherwise.

I drove to the hospital and was ushered in after a thermal screening. An air of fear hung heavy. Blood tests were carried out. My heartbeat and blood pressure shot up. With an eagle’s eye, the doctor scanned the chest report, checked the pulse and declared admission in the ICU. I was wheeled in where another doctor was waiting to attach nodes and monitor the ECG.

A corona warrior in protective gear took the swab samples before I was moved into the main ICU. I felt like a monk in the patient’s attire. All my belongings were put away one by one.

I rolled over into bed only to find that the nodes fixed and connected to the overhead monitor. A plastic band with my name, date of birth, patient number and date of admission were slipped onto my left arm, making me feel firmly entrenched.

Two patients shared a small space between glass panels with curtains in between. There were several such partitions along the narrow passage. Doctors and nurses were on the move and the team spirit was palpable.

I was among the few conscious patients in the unit. For dinner, I thought it was customary to get khichdi till a nurse asked, “Uncle, do you have teeth?” I replied in the affirmative only to be told, “Then why are you having khichdi?”

Nevertheless, I gulped down the bland dinner, while the monitors kept beeping in the background day and night. The volume would go up if the heartbeat of any patient rose or the oxygen level went down. A sink right opposite added to my woes.

The next morning, I was told that I’d tested negative for Covid-19. I was shifted to an extension of the ICU with four beds. On peering out of the window, I saw the minaret of a gurdwara before spotting the reflection of a temple. Reassured, I started re-reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, a descendant of the Toltecs. According to the Toltecs, your mind is a dream where a thousand people talk at the same time and nobody understands each other so you can’t see what you really are.

As I sat beside the window wondering if all this is real, I asked myself: Where am I? Minutes later, the psychiatrist asked the same question! Not satisfied with the reply that I’m retired and settled in Chandigarh, I was asked: When and why did you come here? Finally, the doctor was satisfied with my cognitive abilities and cleared me for discharge.

In these tough times, our doctors and nurses have an arduous task at hand. But I always found them stretching beyond the call of duty, reporting before time despite commuting long distances and working away from home for days together. As I drove home, I saluted their dedication and perseverance that had put me firmly on the road to recovery.

I DROVE TO HOSPITAL AND WAS USHERED IN AFTER A THERMAL SCREENING. AN AIR OF FEAR HUNG HEAVY