My last wish was not to be put on ventilator support: Hospital employee

Over 2000 civic employees including health workers on the frontline in the war against the novel Coronavirus pandemic have contracted COVID19 over the past few months with close to 1000 still undergoing treatmentSo far 2028 civic staffers including technicians clerks sweepers have tested positive for COVID19 and 1103 of them have recovered while 925 are still undergoing treatment Unfortunately 78 succumbed to the disease highly placed BMC officials told middaymidday spoke of chief medical superintendent Shatabdi hospital Govandi to understand the struggle of the frontline workers Dr Alka Mane 56 who was working round the clock amid the COVID19 crisis got herself tested on May 14 and her report came back positive two day laterDr Mane emerged victorious in her fight against COVID19 despite having comorbidities She is still on high doses of steroids to improve her lung health A patient of hypertension for the past 28 years she narrates her battle with the virus while speaking to midday from her Seawoods apartmentShatabdi Govandi was handling routine cases including deliveries in March and April Though five to six mothers tested positive for COVID19 none of the newborns showed any symptoms The mothers were sent to dedicated COVID19 hospitals for treatmentLater a decision was taken to suspend the maternity services at the hospital But being an administrative incharge I continued to interact with other patients and their relatives Soon the entire hospital was converted into a 100bed COVID facility sans ICU for swab collection Patients were referred to Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar or Bhabha Hospital in Kurla when their reports would come back negativeWe all woke up with feverDr Alka Mane chief medical superintendent Shatabdi hospital GovandiWith the hospital handling the COVID19 crisis Dr Mane temporarily moved in with her brother and his family at Chembur On the wee hours of May 14 my brother who had undergone an angiography four years ago my 17yearold niece and I woke up with high fever she said We got ourselves admitted at Shatabdi hospital We felt better in a couple of days she added But on May 25 I could feel respiratory distress I immediately got an xray done which confirmed that I had bilateral pneumonia The condition of my brother and niece improvedThe sign of bilateral pneumonia was not good and I needed to be shifted to ICU The team looking after me spoke at Jogeshwari Trauma hospital On the way there in an ambulance I could sense the heaviness as I struggled to breath and was put on oxygen support she recalled A CT scan confirmed the bilateral pneumonia and I was shifted to the ICU I had only one request to the treating doctors under any circumstances they should not put me on ventilator support and that should be considered my last wish I was put on a noninvasive ventilator support pumping almost six litres of oxygen into my body Luckily I was out of the ICU the next day itself I was then put on oxygen support and steroid treatment was started along with breathing exercises she said She was discharged in the first week of JuneLesson learntThis battle with COVID19 made me realise that only the civic body could have managed to handle such a pandemic with the existing infrastructure and team of dedicated staff she said All the subsequent COVDI19 tests have come back negative It is difficult to avoid getting infected but it can be prevented by taking adequate safety measures she saidAlso I learnt about my enzyme deficiency while being treated for COVID19 she said Never get scared if you get a test positive for COVID19 or if you develop symptoms The more you get nervous and worried the more difficult it becomes to recover from the ailment The best way is to keep a positive attitude and remain calm it does wondersCOVID19 will be with us hereafter as it is a new virus and even health experts and healthcare workers bodies are not immune It is deadlier than H1N1 or any other virusesCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news