What doesn't kill you; makes you strong.

What doesn’t kill you; makes you strong.

The story of our recovery from COVID-19. THE 2^ND WAVE

Unprepared, unnoticed and uncalled for, one evening my hubby (Debasis), returned back home complaining over a very busy day at office. " I'm feeling tired, want to just have dinner and sleep", he said. After his dinner, he ate a Saridon tablet out of habit thinking it's just a headache. After which he sat down with our 5 year old loving daughter and helped with her homework. My daughter is very fond of her papa. They watched Avengers on Disney Hotstar that night and again papa felt lethargic. Thinking it's just tiredness he retired to bed. Our daughter also went to rest in her own little happy place, her den. After finishing my chores, I went to sleep too.

Next morning when I woke up, hubby dearest was sitting with a thermometer and noting down his temperature- 102degree F. He was panicking. He just popped up a paracetamol we had at home and said, '' I think I need to see the doctor, go get myself tested for Covid''. Not wanting to risk our health and to take this lightly; he drove his car hurriedly to the nearest testing centre. To our disbelief he tested positive in his Rapid Antigen Test. Out of panic he became impatient and didn't bother to test for RTPCR. He came home and immediately isolated himself. Meanwhile, he got in touch with the doctor in-charge, Chief Medical Officer of MCL HQ, Dr. Mrs. Gupta. She patiently guided him and was prompt in sending us the medicines right at our doorstep with the help of Ambulance and the dispensary support staff. Right from his GM Civil at office Mr. Sambit Patnaik sir to his seniors and colleagues everybody stepped up to help him.  I had anticipated his report and had done my bit by making all kinds of arrangements for him. Our little daughter was anxious as to what was going on all of a sudden. Family and friends were informed about the news. To our greatest relief we have two doctors in our family. Hubby's sis and my sis. Both of them asked us to keep our calm and this can be handled with proper medication along with some home remedies. 

My father who is a Professor at NIT, Rourkela Mining dept. coordinated with his students here in MCL, Burla and asked them to help us and stay in touch. Papa is also a good friend of IAS Shri Madhu Sudan Padhi who is now principal secretary to Odisha Governor. Padhi Uncle immediately monitored our situation and asked us to get an RTPCR done and send him. He also coordinated with the District Magistrate and Collector of Sambalpur who graciously sent his team lead Dr. Hara Pradhan and Dr. Kiran Rao, to Burla at our doorstep with any kind of assistance if we needed. They shared their personal contact details and added us in a WhatsApp group for monitoring home isolation cases in Burla. Many information and FAQs were available in that portal which cleared all our major doubts about Covid. It was a relief to know that Odisha Govt was active in their surveillance in monitoring the covid cases.

That seemed as the longest day of our lives. Several phone calls from friends and relatives, all asking for any kind of help if we needed. Be it food or medicines or anything whatsoever. I didn't feel lonely nor did I panic. I braved this on myself thinking I can manage this. I would help him with this, we will fight this and this too shall pass. I was all ok and fine that day,cooked lunch and dinner and was monitoring hubby's condition time to time. His fever was 102 that day on and off in every 5 hours interval. Daughter understood papa was unwell so didn't really bother me and was cooperative all the time. Although I was taking all precautions still; I had isolated myself from her so that she doesn't get hit by the virus. We made a conscious decision to send our pet dog Marshal to dog boarding for his proper care. We slept that night with all apprehensions in our minds, praying to God for giving us the strength to face this bravely. Every moment was unpredictable. 

Next morning, was a bright day. Weather outside was pleasant. I was sanitizing the whole house and making arrangements for his food and comfort that's when I started feeling a shiver in my body. It followed by a splitting headache along with body-pain. I concluded I am not spared too. Since my daughter was well isolated from us, I thought she was alright and; right then all my attention was diverted towards her. In the evening my left eye lid started swelling up. I had read that Conjunctivitis was one of the mild symptoms of Covid. Now in this situation I couldn't help but break down. My sister Dr. Aishwariya Priyadarshini, kept my spirits high and helped in co-oping up.

The other day my father-in-law and sister in law Dr. Adyasa Basa (who is a house surgeon currently at SCB Medical college, Cuttack) came all the way from Bhubaneswar to Burla to take our daughter so that at least she is safe. But for their safety we decided to get her tested as she might be a possible carrier. We called up a few numbers and learnt about a home Swab test who would collect our samples from our doorstep. They (*Thyrocare) were prompt in reaching us and taking our samples. To my disbelief my daughter also tested POSITIVE. All of a sudden, I felt like my world turned upside down. Same day I tested positive too. I did not know what to do. I could feel my body suddenly giving up. It started making me feel tired. Daughter was alright and she was in her room playing and eating on her own. That was a relief. She was my strength. I believed I would manage with her cooping with my condition. As long as she was right in front of my eyes I would manage, so we did not send her to Bhubaneswar. Watching my father-in-law and sister leaving from the doorstep made me feel helpless. I put up a brave face to assure them this was going to be alright. They left with heavy hearts and little one waved them goodbye promising to meet soon. My parents, sister and mother-in-law who couldn't come to see us kept us in their prayers and constantly kept in touch, I derived strength and courage from their love and care.

The actual problems started coming up the next day, when I couldn't stand, I had temperature and body-pain. With no house-help and no one else at home I had to get up and look after others. I was clueless, that's when; I learnt about the food service at our guesthouse and luckily my Friend's (Ms. Vaishali Sharma) husband was in-charge of the same Mr. Vinayak Jamwal sir (Public Relations officer). On contacting him he immediately assisted us with Mr Vishal and his team. I had thought come what may if I ate my medicines and drank Kadha and did steaming I would be fine and I will be alright in a day or two. That didn't happen. I needed to take rest. The food service was timely done by the management with proper care of nutrition and careful cooking with less oil and spices for us. Be it sunny, windy or a rainy day, they never failed to assist us during those hard times. They were a blessing in disguise. In my eyes, they are verily the Covid warriors. Even with proper intake of food and medication I kept feeling low and the temperature was still there which added to my miseries. Again, little daughter was managing everything on her own. We kept checking for our oxygen saturation time to time. I was constantly worrying for my little one. She was doing fine and was stable. Hubby was stable too but there was weakness and body pain. Temperature readings were ranging from 102 to 101 and so on for him. 

Woke up the next morning, with a soar throat, and I was unable to speak. My sense of taste and smell had gone and to my utter dismay, I started having chest congestions. It brought back memories of my childhood when I had asthma and I experienced breathlessness. Spoke to my doctor and she suggested to sleep in proning position and try and do breathing exercises. My oxygen saturation readings were alright but my Bpm had shot up. Phlegm had accumulated in my chest and I did everything to take them out of my system. Meanwhile, hubby felt better that day. He looked after me when I couldn't get up. I understood, no matter what happens its always him who would be there for me. Family is first and foremost. It is only them who are there for you always. Daughter woke up with a fever, 100. Immediately spoke to doctor for her medicines. She sent all the medicines on time, our friends helped us whenever we needed any kind of medicines or assistance be it any hour of the day. Hubby was still having temperature and dry cough which resulted in disturbed sleeping patterns. Usually fever should subside within 5 to 6 days, but even after 10th day when he still had temperature, he got an HRCT done after which some changes in his medicines was suggested by Dr. Mrs. Gupta and slight improvements in his health was seen considerably.

Colleagues and seniors, called up and checked with us every single day. If I had to name a few it would be S.M. Alli sir, Sambit Patnaik sir(G.M. Civil),  Manas K. Sahu sir (Chief Manager Civil),  K.V. Sharma sir (Retrd. Chief Manager Civil), Arun Sharma sir (Retrd. G.M.  Civil), K.C. Khuntia sir ( Retrd. GM Mining), Harekrishna Sahu sir (Manager Excavation ), Ashutosh Mishra sir ( Manager Mining), Premanand Pradhan sir ( Manager Mining), Rajesh K. Barik (Deputy Manager Excavation), Sudhir K. Jena ( Deputy Manager Civil), Shantha Kumar ( Asst Manager Civil) and many more. Not only them, my friends and madams also were in constant touch with me from MCL.  We are really thankful to them till this day.

Some home remedies along with medication prescribed by our doctor worked for us, we were drinking Kadha 3-4 times a day, steam inhalation 4 times a day, gargling luke warm water with a pinch of salt any time throughout the day helped us remove phlegm and cleared our lungs, easing in breathing. Proning position sleeping and sleeping side ways helped in breathing. Feeling lucky that we were stable and didn't need hospitalization. Our oxygen saturation levels were well maintained and we were on the path of recovery. We ate nutritious food including all vegetables and supplemented our fluid intake with drinking plenty of water and ORS. We watched positive things on television, kept ourselves occupied talking to family and friends who were our strong support system. In 15 days, we were able to feel much better. Thanks to the Almighty for looking after us and coming to us with help in different forms; be it the Ambulance man, Dispensary support staff, Grocery provider Mr. Rabi , Baazar on click owner Mr. Sanjiv Kumar for arranging many things for our convenience, vegetables delivery by Rabi ji, parcel delivery men  and each and every one who were kind enough to help. I salute these covid warriors whom we very often take for granted.

Life always comes with the good and the rough... some days are MAGIC and others are tough. So, dear readers mask up, sanitize your hands and eat well, stay strong and safe. Get yourself vaccinated, and do your duties. Pandemics will come and go. I feel so proud of my 5 year old daughter for understanding us and cooperating beautifully and for being our strength always. Sitting at home I salute all frontline workers who have worked endlessly in helping mankind in these tough times. I am in awe with how our coal miners have been working day in and day out in providing power and energy to all our homes without taking a break. I admire MCL, for coming forward in funding and building COVID hospitals, with oxygen support and many modern facilities for helping people overcome this with the help of doctors and nurses. Each and every work is a service to mankind. Nothing goes unnoticed by us. I, on behalf of all of us, salute you, applaud you and appreciate you. Thank you for being there.

Disclaimer: The views shared here are purely based on personal experiences and not to be followed without checking with your own doctor first.

 

Letter

My dearest daughter Shraddha (,

The moment I realized I was pregnant, my joy knew no bounds. That was a rainy July month; your daddy dearest was out for work in the interiors of Berhampur ( for Swacch Vidyalaya Abhiyan). I sprang up to give him a call stating he will be a dad soon. As soon as he heard, he was overjoyed too and said that day he would come back soon after work. There were butterflies in my tummy. I was unsure whether a Prega-news kit could actually give accurate result for pregnancy. However, after trying for several months I got the two purple ticks result confirming positive news. Daddy dearest came soon and hugged me. I cannot tell you baby how shy I was to face him. I don’t know why.
Your first ultrasound scan was done in Balaji Pathology, wherein it was hard to say whether I was actually pregnant or not. You were sooooooooooooo small to detect.
First month morning sickness made me dread over the fact ‘why does motherhood include so much pain’? , Second and third months were no good as well. Daddy dearest had graciously allowed me to go to my mommy’s place to take complete rest and recover from the continuous vomiting and constipation that had made me look pale. He on the other hand was stuck with the SVA work in Berhampur still. Although he kept visiting us every 15 days, yet his heart was always around you. All my scans in CWS hospital were the only exciting periods where I could see you in 2D images in black and white sheets. My EDD calculated was on March 9th. I kept counting days since then for your arrival. My health quite improved when I came back to our home in Talcher after your daddy dearest’s SVA got over (that’s a long story, ask him ;)). Daddy dearest helped me get through this pain. He started pampering me more and more like never before. Obviously, as you were there inside me crouched like a tiny doll. The world seemed better and better day by day. I felt excited to feel you inside me. Most of my time went away in Googling about pregnancy and most importantly knowing your gender; reading the old wive’s myths. I always since day 1 wanted a GIRL CHILD. You can ask your daddy dearest, he will tell you nicely ;).
Your first kick was the best feeling I would say. Your daddy dearest always kept on asking, did you feel the baby yet? I had no answer, until one day I felt like a butterfly fluttering its wings inside me. Gradually those fluttering turned into kicks and thereafter into punches as well. There was no specific craving associated with food related to my pregnancy but, daddy dearest always took care of my food and favourites. I couldn’t smell the cooking powders in the kitchen and most of the time I felt drained out; hence daddy dearest got us food from the guesthouse nearby. Thanks to him that we overcame our sickness soon and I could come back to life to support your growth inside me. Everyone took special care of me so that you come out safe and healthy.
Fifth to seventh months were the most pleasant months of pregnancy. You started growing bigger and bigger inside me. I could time and again feel your movements. Active in late nights and dull throughout the day. Daddy dearest would play with my tummy to feel you move your tiny hands and legs touching the inner surface of my baby bump which was slowly trying to show then. It was the only time I felt gaining a few kilos was great. In my dreams I saw you as beautiful daughter born to us, the wonderful dresses I would buy for you and how will you be the apple of our eye.
Then one day as I went for my check up in central hospital, Talcher the Radiologist detected a large head of yours inside me. The diameter of your head interpreted the EDD to be sooner around 17th Feb 2016 (+/- 7 days). It was hard to believe that you would arrive soon in our arms. Daddy dearest and I panicked and we rushed a weekend to Rourkela as it was already mid January. Doctors in Rourkela also couldn’t predict the EDD same reason being your big head. To have a normal delivery I was all active, went for walks in the evenings yet, CS was written in my fate.
The ninth month was the most exciting month. Several people came to see me, got delicious food for you inside me. I had started feeling so heavy that I had almost lost my appetite. I stopped visiting people and confined myself indoors. My bladder would always feel full as your head was down there resting right on top of it. I had terrible sleepless nights. I started being busy. Read the Bhagwad Gita, painted canvases, wrote blogs and listened to devotional songs. Though I was all suffocated and nervous inside yet I managed to be active and helped my mommy in household activities.
One fine day when I went to the hospital for monthly check up, I got to see you personally in a scan by Dr. Rupali Biswal. I can’t tell you how beautiful you looked baby. Your sweet face was so mesmerising that I wanted to enter the screen and hug you. As expected the doctor made sure I made up my mind for CS delivery. A hurried check up day was decided to again detect your growth and estimate your EDD. It was a beautiful Friday morning the 19th of February 2016 your grandparents wedding anniversary and your grandpa’s birthday too. My Doctor suggested I should get admitted that very day as she won’t be available the next week. Daddy dearest gave thumbs up to go for it. He hurriedly started from Talcher to reach on time to see you baby. I couldn’t see him before entering the OT as he had not yet reached. Nervous yet brave outside I prayed for a safe delivery from within. The moment I got the ting of anaesthesia I knew I should count my stars. They had to cut open a generous portion of my lower tummy to bring you out. Within minutes (exact time 6:16pm) you were out yelling at the top of your voice. You were continuously crying. The doctors congratulated me saying it was a baby girl. Lying there with scissors and needles I laughed and thanked my God for my desire was fulfilled. A tiny cute little angel was born to us. The doctors allowed me to peep in and see your face while they were stitching the incision made. I was sooooooooo happy to see you my love. I wished you a happy birthday there ( inside the OT.
They took you away from me to clean you and feed you, and I was there still waiting to come out and see you and daddy dearest first. After about one hour I was shifted from OT to recovery room where everyone came to see me. All told only one thing such a beauty you were!!! I only wanted to listen to what daddy dearest had to say. I kept looking for him longing to see him next to me. He came in a short while and I got all emotional seeing him. Daddy dearest went on telling about you. He was all excited to see you love. He couldn’t stop talking about you. I was happy that he was happy and excited. I was in deep pain after operation, I was in a subconscious state smiling at everyone and from deep within I wanted to see you. My mummy finally brought you after few hours and I fell in Love with youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. Words can’t describe the joy of being finally able to see you after nine long months baby. You were a blessing in disguise. I pray that you always bring joy to others and let your presence kindle others lives. It is time for you to open your eyes and see the wonderful world around you which has become much brighter with your presence. For me you are the best gift that life has ever given me. I Love You my baby and will continue to do so till my last breath.
                                                                                                                                                         --- Yours
                                                                                                                                                            Mummy

Little Joys of Life

To love and to be loved is a rare combination in the current world that we live in. Either loving someone truly has become a joke, or to be loved by others is a strange expectation we all have. Isn’t Love a continuous phenomenon; which develops and grows with time? Love in any relationship, family or an intimate friendship, is only about putting the other person’s needs ahead of your own, and that, my friend, is just as simple and a complex as you make it. Even the nicest people have their own limits; respect is earned and not given. Remember karma has no deadline and goes around comes around…

All of us when born, come with an empty hard disk (brain), the matter within depends on what characteristics we adopt from our parents mainly or a guardian. It is such a complex world we try to understand slowly and steadily as and when we keep growing. Getting deluded by wrong temptations is so easy that gross accumulates faster than wisdom. Couldn’t all the consequences of our actions be known all before hand? Going back in time ‘interstellar’?

Love is all about learning and feeling good for others which no doubt is a mind game. The relations pre- existing in our lives are to be placed orderly with the ones which would form later in the mainframe mosaic of one’s life. Selfless, unconditional love lasts longer than pretending and expecting something in return. Loving one’s parents and siblings is the first thing all do in their early lives, moving on to loving their friends, their life partner after marriage which again involves pure love and a transparent relationship and lastly loving your own child which in itself is a big duty and responsibility. It is the cycle of life which has to go on with the wheels rotating and crossing every pothole that comes in its way.

If you feel all this is going tangential up in the air, take a deep breath and do what makes you happy. As all that we say and do are based on one’s own perceptions of life. Neither you nor I can define what kind of love we need and what kind we can afford to give others. Well one thing remains constant: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If we could look into each others hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other more and more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care. At the end of our lives, we will not be judged by how many diplomas or degrees we have received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. What will matter most is how you have left your impressions on others. Hence stop comparing yourself with others and stay focused on your own journey and leave footprints behind……start doing small things with great love…good luck. :) :)

TROUBLED MARRIAGE

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person- Mignon McLaughlin

One of the biggest and most important ceremonies of our lives is no doubt one's own wedding. It takes in a lot of effort to put things in place, both by the bride and the grooms side families. Manifesting this big event into a grand success needs co-operation. Nevertheless , people somehow marry after they fall in love. Initial innings of life fairs well with deep love among the couple. They not only are satisfied with each other but also imagine their life to be a fairy tale worth living. Later do they know, that all this is just the beginning. A relationship works two way and if there is a slight distraction, it does not take long to build room for confusion. It is then Ego plays the main role, it keeps on hinting on the negative aspect of the partner, almost neglecting the good things that one did before. One of the biggest problems one can face after marriage is , no support from family emotionally. If a family cannot hold them together, then there exists no such place to live on this planet. 

It is the responsibility of the mans parents to make their daughter-in-law get along with them. She needs to understand them first and then think about maintaining their values. If this goes unattended, there comes culture clashes along with mismatch of thoughts. A girl leaves her family to settle down with her husband to live a life of harmony. She deserves love and respect. She should not loose her individuality and her own interests. Keeping herself rooted, she not only has to look after herself but also her new family. Similarly, men should be humble and caring towards their life partner. There is no relationship where there are no ups and downs but the minimum it is, the best it will be. He should not be blindfolded against the wrongs that is happening to his wife. He should handle things tactfully. He who carefully balances his work and life is a happy man. 

Together the couple should be responsible for their own life's decisions. No third person's opinion should matter at all. After all we grow up, get matured to decide for marriage and then only think to settle down with our own set of goals. It is primarily the couple's choice of life. Life is a challenge and it involves lots of planning, any small mistake can be fatal, hence there should be a transparent relationship between the couple. 

Troubled marriages affect people both mentally and emotionally. There might be chances of depression and emotional breakdown time and again which no doubt is a bad sign. To overcome this , one needs to realize how important it is to pay attention towards your partner. In the long run no one turns up for you, except for the one you marry. The world that we live in is very complex and complicated. No scientist or spiritual Guru has realized what life is exactly... It all involves proper intellectual thinking before doing things. A mistake once committed should be rectified and mended only then can one rise and be happy altogether. Lastly, if all this makes sense to you and you are nodding reading those lines, it's time.... SAVE YOUR MARRIAGE :) :) and love more and more...

Life is a challenge, meet it! 

Life is a dream, realize it! 

Life is a game, play it! 

Life is Love, enjoy it!

                                   

Life is strange, and so are its ways of unfolding things. Many a times we imagine things to be picture perfect. At times we do succeed in living a happy and content life, but is that worth lasting? 

Similarly another complication in one's life can be , that lovely fairy tale of falling in love with a perfect soul mate. True Love is such a big Myth that the media has been misleading us to. Yes, there  still exists tales of several people successful and happy with their love affairs and their courtship after marriage, but many people are not as fortunate as them. In a country like India, we are proud to have people of various backgrounds, speaking different languages, belonging to different religions. Of course we believe in 'Unity in Diversity', don't we?? (chuckles!!)..

We come across varied mentalities of people and their personal comments about Love, its so disheartening to understand that love is not how we perceive and it is majorly decided upon what the SOCIETY thinks about it. So many restrictions pop up from nowhere. Be it your own family, relatives or friends, majorly your neighbors who get food for thought and disrupt your smooth relationship. To break this vicious circle of unrest, one needs to overcome comments and strange looks by people and embark on this big decision to get married.

In the long run parents agree to it but, still regret about their son/ daughter not taking their opinion before loving. We spend all our life satisfying their wishes of, studying well, getting into a good college, earning a good living ... but what about choosing a Life Partner of our interests. After marriage , troubles don't fade away easily. Any small mistake is counted so largely almost blaming and crushing us under their feet. The True Love then among the couple shatters to just a complaining relationship. Both unsatisfied with their life's decisions.

Let this not happen to everyone. Let us all be welcoming in all our thoughts. Let us be receiving things positively. Let us be the change and change the world. Of course telling is easy, one has to move on after whatever he/she has gone through but not impossible. Let the true love bloom in your relationship day by day and year after year... learn to forgive and forget. !!!. Have faith in your partner and love him/her immensely as you did before. Help someone who is facing the same consequences as you. Keep smiling.... :)

P.S.: A completely imaginary and personal thought.