Rajib Basak / Guest Author
After quite a few successful attempts of half-marathons and several mountaineering ventures, I thought under the pandemic atmosphere that I could easily win the battle, if ever inflicted by Covid virus. But this confidence was shaken very badly when I found myself Covid positive in the month of April 2021. Since I was staying without a single family member at that point of time, my fear gripped me even more upon realizing that I had no near and dear one’s physical presence even in the next room of my apartment.
I would often find myself half unconscious at the wee hours of the night, burning with 104 degrees of temperature – only to realize that if I die tonight, days might pass till anyone reaches my home. One of my house-helps though would have his intermittent and panic filled presence for a few hours in my home, only to provide me with medicines and food. The minute he left, I would be back again to my thoughts of fear and hopelessness.
Throughout this period of time, I would ensure that I followed my doctor’s advice and accordingly take care of myself, as much as possible. I knew it for a fact, that I have to brave through this disease all by myself and I cannot afford to lose faith in myself and the Divine Almighty.
Almost every other day during my quarantine period, I would get a handful of calls from family and friends, asking about my precarious condition and giving me many new advices to be followed. But after one point of time, these calls were honestly getting very tiring and disturbing as I was under severe body pain and a physical condition which did not allow me to even speak to anyone for more than a few seconds.
In the course of my adventures, be it at the edge of the mountains, several metres under the sea or even in disaster relief works where I had encountered the roads breaking apart during earthquakes, life has landed me in many situations where I was stuck between doorways of life and death, but I can guarantee to the world that this was the deadliest and scariest of all.
My only facilitators and rays of hope during these tough times were my five dog babies – who never left my side. They couldn’t utter a word but they knew that their father was really sick and nonetheless waited patiently for me to recover. I would often stare at their faces wondering who would look after them if I am not alive the next morning ? Such thoughts would sometimes charge me up a bit and give me reasons to fight back and stand strong again.
Covid has taken one of my closest friends and colleagues away from me and at my weakest moments, I would often recount the sight of his last moments and that would break me down enormously.
After surpassing several wear and tear in my life, my Covid journey has truly strengthened me to the core and even further as a fighter.
I never intend to scare anybody but at the same time would want to remind how deadly Covid can be. Moreover my biggest takeaway that I would like to share with all is that, “The day one loses hope is the day they take a few steps backward in the battle of life. One can count upon – even on an ultra-thin single ray of hope.”
(Author is a native of Kolkata and is a senior business associate with the Life Insurance Corporation of India. A fitness and adventure freak, he has scaled several peaks of the Himalayas and believes in living life beyond any rules.)