‘It was traumatic at first, I immersed myself in books’

Telangana’s first COVID-19 patient, who has now recovered, recalls his fight against the dreaded disease

30/03/2020, K. SHIVA SHANKER,HYDERABAD

Helping hands: Police personnel seen outside the isolated block of the Gandhi Hospital. Nagara Gopal

“How did I get it?” Throughout the 14 days of isolation at the Gandhi Hospital, this thought constantly played on the mind of the index (first) COVID-19 case of Telangana. The 24-year-old techie hailing from Hyderabad tried to piece together all details from the time he left Bengaluru, where he works for a startup, till he landed in Dubai. He racked his brains but could not figure out the answer.

Cooped up all alone in the isolation ward of the State-run hospital even as his treatment started, he was bogged down with the anxiety of having possibly passed on the contagious disease to his family members, friends and others he came in contact with. Desperate to break free from the restlessness and the constant news reports and discussions on the novel coronavirus, he turned to fiction books.

During the two weeks of treatment, he finished reading six novels. Now, he has recovered .

Having completed 28 days of isolation at the hospital and quarantine at home on Friday, he told The Hindu, in an exclusive interview, that he flew to Dubai in mid-February and returned to Bengaluru on February 20.

After attending office for a day and then staying back in his room the next day, he returned to Hyderabad in an air-conditioned bus on February 22.

When he developed fever, he consulted the family doctor. Four days later, he developed dry cough too and was diagnosed with pneumonia. A corporate hospital referred him to Gandhi Hospital where he tested positive for COVID-19 on March 1.

“At that point, I underwent a lot of psychological trauma. I was shocked to know the results. Then I started to worry about my parents, friends and others who had come in contact with me. Besides, I was anxious as pneumonia was at its peak in the first three days after testing positive. But Krishna Murthy, head of the Pulmonology department, was quite supportive. He said I will get well soon since I am young. The duty doctors and nurses constantly monitored my situation,” the techie recalled.

While he said conditions at the government hospital were “okay” with scope for improvement, the youngster said the doctors, nurses and other staff “did everything they could”. “Nurses covered in Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) would come into the ward to administer medicines. They would boost my morale every now and then and share tea with me. My family and friends called me up regularly. I kept away from social media and read books to transport myself to another world,” the youngster said.