The Quarantine story of the author infected by the coronavirus

Quarantine is a word that dropped out of the dictionary and entered our life during the pandemic. In Ramayana, Lord Rama with Sita and Laxman were quarantined in the forest for 14 years. It’s the Vanvaas that led to Lord Rama’s victory over evil that we celebrate every year. The quarantine story is also all about the victory of a patient over an evil called coronavirus. The day is not far when humankind’s victory over the virus will be celebrated like a festival that the whole world will rejoice.

The arrow that killed Ravana will appear in a new avatar in the form of a vaccine. It was the Ghar ka bhedi Vibhishana who helped Lord Rama to kill Ravana. Similarly, this time it’s our antibodies within our Ghar (home) that will help the immune system to win the war over the virus.

This is the story of the author “theconartistalok” who recently became the victim of the coronavirus and got quarantined in a room.

The Quarantine story started with a high fever

One quality that God has given us is the feeling of invincibility. It means the coronavirus can impact the entire world except us. The author also became a victim of invincibility letting his guard down out of sheer complacency.  One fine Monday i.e. 22^nd June he woke up with a high fever. The thermometer gathering dust for long was put to use and the mercury shot to a 102.4*C.

The neighbourhood doctor was consulted who advised keeping a close watch for a couple of days. Paracetamol was advised to keep the temperature under check. My wife asked me to get quarantine in the room and so began my journey of 24 days in Vanvaas with only a TV to give me company. It was on Wednesday that I met the doctor at his clinic and he advised me to get tested.

It was time for the Covid 19 test

We contacted the lab and fixed a time for home collection. The lab makes the booking only on a doctor’s prescription. The next afternoon we had a visitor dressed up in a spacesuit as if coming straight from Mars. The test doesn’t involve piercing a needle to draw blood but a swab sample from your throat and the nasal cavity. The fee fixed by the government is Rs 2400 per individual.

Friday, 26^th June, the entire family was waiting for the result as if I had appeared for a UPSC exam. On the other hand, I was experiencing an adrenaline rush, a feeling I had experienced awaiting my Class 12^th results. But knowing that Karma had struck during the class 12^th results, I had a feeling that Karma is going to struck again.  The RT-PCR test came positive.

The Quarantine story of 2 weeks begin

As per the protocol the doctor was informed immediately and he prescribed few medicines (mainly vitamin supplements) along with a set of guidelines. Strict room quarantine was advised for me for the next 2 weeks.

A Laxman Rekha was drawn that I was not supposed to cross. Like a prisoner, I was issued a set of utensils. Food was given daily on this plate that I needed to clean in my attached bathroom after having the meal. I had to wash my clothes every alternate day in the evening and let them dry under the fan in the night.

You have to keep your spirits high during a quarantine

For the first 4-5 days, the fever takes its toll and makes you weak. I used to spend most of the time relaxing in bed either sleeping or watching television. It’s from the fifth day that I could feel the loss of smell. The room freshener or the cologne refused to bring freshness in my life. Once the fever came to 99*C, the boredom set in. By the time it was the 7^th day, I started feeling lonely especially in absence of any conversation with family members in the room. The loneliness started to make me feel depressed.

The Daily schedule

From the 8^th day onwards I decided to make a daily schedule to pep up my mood. The day started at 7 am. After the morning chores, it was time for a daily dose of news on TV accompanied by bed tea and a toast. This was followed by a newspaper reading session interspersed with the sound of bhajans and chopai. The 9.30-10 am slot was for shave and bath. Dressed up in casual clothing along with an extra splash of cologne, I used to get ready as if going to the office though it was another day in isolation.

Breakfast was light like poha or egg with toast. Sheldon Cooper and Leonard of The Big Bang Theory on Netflix used to entertain me for an hour. The next couple of hours were devoted to reading the online edition of the Economist and attending phone calls of well-wishers.

Afternoons and evenings were slow paced

Lunch was served at 2.30 pm with a menu that included dal, chapati, rice, and Lauki or gobhi ki sabzi. Post meals it was time to wash the utensils. The 3 to 5 pm slot was for an afternoon siesta in a chilled AC room. A little dose of binge-watching helped me go off to sleep.

It was easier spending the day time but the evenings were pretty boring. Being a blogger in quarantine, the 5 to 8 pm slot was reserved for writing a story. A tea with a light snack would help me with a new story idea. The soup was served at 8 pm followed by curd rice or khichdi in dinner.  The last part of the day from 9 to 11 pm was for watching TV. I got involved with Sushmita Sen to unravel the drug money mystery in Aarya or became a part of K K Menon’s team in Special Ops. Lights went off at 11 am though at times I had a problem sleeping.

Lifting the morale of your family

One thing I realised gradually was that it was not only me but also my family that was suffering. Listening and reading about daily numbers of Covid patients, the casualties and the recoveries created anxiety among their minds.

To boost their morale, I would ask my spouse to make sambhar chawal or a bhindi ki sabzi during lunch. In the evenings, I would ask my son to make garlic toast with sausages. This was an indicator to them that I was on my recovery path that they were eagerly looking forward to.

I would listen to my spouse’s instruction of taking steam and warm water gargles 2-3 times in a day though with some reluctance. Kaadha (a concoction of spices and herbs) was served to me 2-3 times in a day which my system accepted with great difficulty.

The Quarantine story didn’t end on the 17^th day

As per the doctor’s advice, I decided to take a test on the 17^th day. The same lab guy came for collecting the sample. It looked that my quarantine story will soon come to an end. On the 18^th day around noontime, my daughter called informing me that it’s bad news as I once again tested positive.

I went into a depression for half-a-day and didn’t speak to anybody. My family was very supportive at this stage. The doctor suggested another week in room quarantine.

My RWA secretary called and tried lifting my morale saying it was only a question of another week. I can come out of the room after a week though still, home quarantined. Also along with my doctor, she suggested that this time I should get tested after another 2 weeks from the last test.

I finally got a second test done on day 31^st  and this time it came negative. It was a big sigh of relief for me as well as my family.

Learning of the quarantine story

Please follow your doctor’s advice and keep him updated regularly. It was on my doctor’s recommendation that the whole family got tested. My mother, spouse, and son tested negative though my domestic help who stays with us also tested positive. He got quarantined in his quarter just like me for nearly 28 days before testing negative.

Please take medication as per the doctor’s advice. This disease can’t be controlled by self-medication. Also in case of any other symptoms like breathlessness or too much coughing, consult your doctor. He will suggest if you need to get admitted to a hospital or not.

During this journey of one month, a routine that I followed every day was checking my temperature, oxygen, and pulse levels at least 3 to 4 times a day and kept a record. Two tiny members who became friends in my quarantine story were the thermometer and the pulse-oximeter.

Cheers and goodbye from a fully recovered patient!

You can read more such stories on my blog. Click on the following link:

Sharing is Caring is the biggest learning of the coronavirus pandemic

A big thank you to all the people who helped us in the lockdown

Learn more about coronavirus on the following link:

https://www.mygov.in/covid-19/