105-yr-old & his 95-yr-old wife win Covid battle after nine days in ICU

105-yr-old & his 95-yr-old wife win Covid battle after nine days in ICU

Bhavika.Jain1@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: 27.04.2021

When Suresh Chavan was looking for a hospital to admit his Covid-positive parents, his neighbours in Katgaon Tanda village, Latur, had cautioned him, saying anyone that old who goes to a Covid hospital never comes back home. His 105-year-old father, Dhenu Chavan, and 95-year-old mother Motabai proved everyone wrong.

The couple spent nine days in the ICU of Vilasrao Deshmukh Institute of Medical Sciences in Latur battling the virus, and came out victorious. Doctors who treated the centenarian couple said early diagnosis and timing treatment helped them beat the virus.

FIGHTING FIT: Dhenu Chavan and wife Motabai proved the villagers wrong  ‘Timely treatment will ensure complete recovery’

A total of five members of the Chavan family had tested positive on March 24. “We live a joint family. Other than my parents, the three children had tested positive too. My parents were running high temperatures and my father had a severe stomachache as well and so I decided to admit them both to a hospital,” said Suresh.

He found a bed at the government medical college, which is three hours away from this village. “My parents were very scared and so was I, but I knew that keeping them at home would be the wrong decision,” said Suresh. This decision on his behalf proved helpful. “They had a CT (computed tomography) score of 15/25, which was a concern due to their age. They were on oxygen support and were also given five doses of the antiviral remdesivir injections,” said Dr Gajanan Halkanche who treated the couple.

Dhenu Chavan was discharged on April 5 while Motabai took two more days to recover.

“They were brought to us in time and there was no delay in seeking treatment and that made a significant difference,” said Dr Halkanche. Latur district is currently seeing an average of 1,000 cases daily and several patients are not getting tested in time and coming in the hospital with very severe symptoms. “We are appealing to the public to ensure they get tested as soon as they see any symptoms. Timely detection and treatment will ensure complete recovery,” said Dr Halkanche.

Suresh said he would go to the hospital every day and see his parents from a small glass window. “He would always ask me if they would ever get better and would see our village again. And every day I kept telling them they will be discharged tomorrow,” said Suresh.

Full report on www.toi.in