It has been a harrowing time for the family of a techie, who was tested positive for COVID-19 in Bengaluru. Meena* says that she has been praying and waiting for her husband to recover and come home.
In the first week of March, Meena's husband, who had returned from abroad, isolated himself at home in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. "A day after his return, he fell sick. He had a fever and I immediately called the helpline because I was worried about my mother-in-law and son too. They both have asthma. When we called the helpline, an ambulance was sent to take my husband to the hospital. I was extremely worried. As soon as my neighbours saw the ambulance, I started receiving calls from them," she says.
Meena says she was overwhelmed by her neighbours' calls and doubly worried for her husband. "I know about coronavirus and that we have to be isolated but I was made to feel ostracised by their intrusive calls. I chose not to respond to them. In such trying times, I felt that none of them would come to help me or my family," she says.
Soon after, her husband was shifted to an isolation facility at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases. "My husband had fever for over a week. The fever is gone now but he is still in isolation. He used to sleep most of the time. The hospital staff only allowed him to take his mobile phone with him. He loves reading books and he had taken a few but he was unable to read them," she says.
Meena says that all the members of her family including her son, daughter and mother-in-law immediately isolated themselves. Those delivering essential commodities were told to drop off the essentials at the gate. Her brother's family members, who were not in direct contact with her family, also isolated themselves out of caution, she says.
"My daughter is in Class 12. She was not allowed to go and write her PUC exam. She broke down and panicked that her future is over. When I contacted the Education Department, they made arrangements for her to write the exam at home. We all think that the government is not doing anything but they are working for us day and night. They are like god to me for helping me and my family in these tough times," she adds.
Meena's husband has been receiving psychological help to cope with the illness. She says that the counsellor appointed for her husband calls her every day to give her an update on her husband's condition. "The doctors and nurses are working hard too. My husband's fever peaked every day in the morning. The nurses and doctors treating him kept alarms so they would be able to attend to him without neglect. They too have been working very hard," she says.
Meena said that the IT company he works for also stood by her. The meals at RGICD include two eggs along with rice, ragi mudde, curd, rasam and a fruit rich in Vitamin E. With the family being vegetarians, the doctors there accommodated his request to have homemade food delivered to the hospital.
"My husband is used to eating homemade food. Since I could not go out, even though all of us were tested negative, I called his company. They send a car every day to my gate. I leave the boxes with food thrice a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the gate and the company delivers it to the gate at the hospital," she says.
Meena says that she passes her time in home quarantine by cooking and cleaning the house as the domestic worker they've employed is on paid leave. “Our home quarantine gets over on March 25. After that, we will be able to go out but we will still be under observation for 14 extra days. I am glad I had the government to support me when I did not expect it. Now that my husband does not have a fever, we are hoping that soon his daily tests come back negative, so he can come home,” she adds.
*Name changed to protect identity