The Pandemic:1.0 & 2.0

As it’s rightly said, every bad experience has something to teach. It wouldn’t be fair if I miss out on scripting what I learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic.

On 23 rd of March 2020, the government of India ordered a nationwide lockdown for twenty- one days. Mobility got restricted even in our islands. Since my dad works in the police department, he had to continually go for his duty. By the end of July, the number of cases increased rapidly and many police personnel were tested Covid positive. There was a lack of beds and ventilators in the hospitals.

On 1st August, my dad had a slight fever and body ache. So as a precautionary measure, my mom suggested that he should be isolated in the guest room. But, he seemed fine, without any serious symptoms. Therefore, we told him to come back to his room. While my sister and I were not prepared to take the situation seriously, there was my mom who was still hesitant about us interacting with Dad. I mocked her and said, “Can't you see dad is fine? There’s nothing to worry about, you are just overthinking”.

On the morning of the 5th, Dad told my mom that he won’t go to work as he had symptoms of Covid. Now, that was surprising because I know that Dad doesn’t take a single day off unless and until it’s unavoidable. So, he went for rapid testing and I was still not taking it seriously because he got tested twice before and the results came out to be negative.

As for myself, I was calm until I had a severe headache. I had read somewhere that headache is one of the symptoms of Covid, so I went to my room and isolated myself, even before getting tested because I knew what was coming our way. Later that day, Dad’s results came and he was tested positive. Thankfully, he didn’t have to go to the hospital and was home quarantined as it was detected in an initial stage.

Now that we had a Covid patient in our family, a team of doctors came to our place to test my mom, my sister and me. I was tested positive and that was not surprising, at least not to me.

By the grace of God, Mom and my sister were tested negative. Dad and I were isolated in different corners of the house for several days. Initially, it felt fine to spend some time alone but gradually it started to get boring. I felt lonely, helpless, and tired. I just wanted to go out, breathe some fresh air and feel free but, I had no choice. My sister and I share a beautiful bond. We roll over and cuddle with each other, sneak into each other’s room. Sometimes we fought together, but would always end our day with a tight, warm hug. Not being able to do that for days and weeks was equally tough for the both of us. Altogether it was an emotional and challenging experience to be remembered for life. Days passed by and everything was getting back to normal.

Fast forward to 4th May, 2021. When the second wave of Covid had hit India, even our family was affected. That day, I woke up and my dad informed me that Mom is not feeling well. Since he had to leave for work, he asked me to take care of Mom and to keep checking her O 2 levels on the oximeter at regular intervals. It was quite normal until 8:00 p.m. When my sister checked it, the oxygen level was low, so we informed Dad immediately. He came back home and spoke to our family doctors. All of them suggested that we should take her to the hospital without any delay as she needed oxygen support. To us, she looked very normal.

There was no such breathing difficulty; however, the oximeter reading was going down. I just couldn’t control my tears, so I went to my room and cried my heart out. Then, I wiped my tears and came out from my room; acting all strong, and started packing my mom's bag. I just wanted to give her a tight hug, while Dad was asking me to stay away and wear a mask. I ran to my mom and hugged her. What I had experienced at that moment cannot be put into words. She was hospitalized for about a week. By the grace of God and the good care that she received, her health gradually started improving and now, she is completely fine.

During the days of lockdown and pandemic, I have learnt to value life, time and the people around me a little more than before. I learnt not to take good health for granted and realised how blessed we are to be able to live freely, to enjoy nature, to move around and interact with people. If it was not for Covid, I would have never learnt to value the smallest of things in life.

Nothing lasts forever, not even coronavirus, so stay safe and fight hard!

-Sherin Johnson
II BA