So, after lots of discussion and confusion I finally got admitted to one of the corporate hospitals in Pune. As soon as i got admitted , there were some routine tests like haemoglobin, ECG etc and all of which were normal and as I looked around most of them had salines, oxygen, having not got admitted to a hospital, it felt wierd. Also, I thought at the end of 10 days I would have salines and injections all over me, that actually scared me mentally. On the very next morning, one of the doctors told me that if I dont show symptoms in next 7 days and if I get tested negative, they can give me early discharge, this made very happy.
The food which they gave me at the hospital was tastless and they gave alternative day breakfast of poha and upma , atmosphere at the hospital made me sick , really really sick. Inspite of this struggle the thing that made me happy was 7 days early discharge. But this happiness didn’t last long, the next day i asked the doctor the discharge thing again, he said that “who told you the early discharge thing , there is no thing like this , you are only discharged at the end of 10 days and that too without a test and if you need a test you have to wait 1or 2 more days”. This thing made me sad again . 12 days at the hospital and cosuming heavy medication was the only thing in my mind.
The greatest strength in these tough times were my friends and my family , who were in my touch every 3-4 hours. There was family video call which used to happen then for 2 times a day just to make me feel happy. What can I speak about my friends , video calls with them just made feel normal, made me feel that i am outside this hell. Two of my friends and my brother-in-law even brought me food, fruits risking their own health so that I feel good. This was the time, when I felt that I’m very lucky to have soo many people who care for me.
As the days neared , my anxiety grew , finally it was the 10th day. After begging the hospital staff to collect my swab for the test , they finally collected the sample and warned me that if it is positive, I might have to stay 5 more days, this thing made me very very anxious. 10,11th day were one of the most toughest days , as they made me anxious about the result. Even on the 11th day the hospital staff were very slow in communicating my result , I was thinking that I might get discharged on the 11 th day but it wasn’t the case, the hospital gave the result after rigorous requesting and shouting at 7.30PM IST , the result finally came out to be negative. This really made me feel very happy and tear-eyed.But this also made at that I can’t get discharged on 11th day
Then came the 12th day(6th July 2020) , even on this day hospital staff were very slow , and that’s why i called my roommate to come to the hospital so that the process can be initiated quickly and finally at around 7 PM on the 12th day i.e. after testing negative for 24 hours I got discharged from hospital. I felt like I was getting out of a jail, I felt very very good. I got home and felt very good.
Finally, I don’t know much on how much it affected me physically but mentally it had a great affect on me. But it was a journey , which thought me many things and made me feel greatful for the people i have in my life.
Akash Deshpande 