A month ago, Dipanwita Dutt exchanged vows and moved from Mumbai to Kolkata with her husband. But, leaving her maternal home in Dadar was not easy. Her mother Chitra Dutt, who requires dialysis three times a week, largely depended on her to arrange the doctor visits. But, on the afternoon of April 10, life threw a curveball. A call from Shushrusha Hospital informed them that the 61-year-old's dialysis session, scheduled for the next morning, had been cancelled. "The facility was sealed by the BMC after two nurses tested positive for COVID-19. My father called me, but I had no clue how to help," Dipanwita says. She turned to their nephrologist. "I called Dr Sudhiranjan Dash, who gave us a long list of diagnostic labs where we could test for COVID-19. We were confused. Our priority was different; if my mother, who has end stage chronic kidney disease, misses a single session, she could die." But, it was crucial for Chitra to test negative in order to receive kidney treatment
anywhere else in the city, the doctor emphasised.

After a lot of back and forth, with the diagnostic lab cancelling on swab collection appointments, and the family's desperate attempt at seeking help from friends and colleagues, finally on April 13, Chitra got tested. Three days had already been wasted, and another 48 hours were to go to get the results. "Thankfully, the next day we were told via email that my mother had tested negative. But now we had to find an alternative dialysis centre. I made some more calls."