I tested positive for COVID a day after I returned from India. It appeared rather quickly and hit me pretty damn hard! Since I had tested negative 24 hours before my departure, and I traveled in an empty business class – the only place I could have contracted the virus was at the Delhi Airport. I was double-masked; I sanitised a gazillion times, and I sat isolated for the longest time – but it still hits you.

After coming home, I kept feeling tired, but I put it aside, thinking that it must be jet lag! I tested myself the next day with the RAPID antigen kit at home and was COVID negative. But by the evening, I was experiencing chills, and soon my body was burning up by the following morning. I took another covid test, and this time, it said POSITIVE. I immediately wore a mask, informed my husband, and self-isolated. We even did an RT-PCR test to be 100% sure. But before the results could come in – there was no doubt in my mind that I had COVID. I was experiencing almost all the symptoms; the only relief was that my husband tested negative.

As for my symptoms, I never lost my sense of taste or smell.

At the onset, I experienced a sore throat, high fever, and chills. In addition to this, I started to experience headaches, dizziness, exhaustion, and I also got a cold. My muscles also started hurting, and my body started feeling very weak by day 4. After the fourth day, my fever came down, but I started experiencing terrible nausea. None of the medicines were helping me till day 8, which meant I could not eat at all. I still pushed myself and made sure I remained hydrated. It was only by day ten or so that I started to feel slightly better – I was still low on energy, but my blood work looked okay. There was some inflammation, but I was on the road to recovery. Despite isolation and disinfecting surfaces, my husband caught the virus on the sixth day of my recovery journey and it went down by day 7.

My husband’s reaction to the virus was much more severe. For that, we had to seek medical assistance. My 10-year-old escaped the virus but seeing her parents go into isolation wasn’t a pleasant experience for her either.

She tried her best to remain calm and distracted herself with Netflix and other digital aids. I ordered her several puzzles and art supplies to keep her busy. For my sanity, I had to disconnect from Instagram, Facebook, and even WhatsApp. No matter how strong I am, I knew that all the news would make me weaker mentally. I did watch a lot of upbeat content on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.

Here are some of my recommendations – Stand Ups from Gaurav Kapoor, Gaurav Gupta, Upmanyu, Aakash Gupta, and our good old Russell Peters. I was repeating stuff, and sometimes things were running just in the background to instil some calm in my life! I also saw the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Modern Family, Friends, and Andaaz Apna Apna.

Since I was the carrier in our family, I was experiencing a lot of fear, guilt, and helplessness. These feelings do not help with recovery; it either slows down the process or makes matters worse.

I knew my triggers, and I would use a lot of distraction and seek support from my family through video calls during moments of despair.

Nonetheless, both of us recovered, and here are a few things that I would like to enlist for everyone to abide by during such horrendous times:

1. Focus on getting better; no one wants to fall ill or stay ill for longer.

2. Look for a lot of positive reinforcement – seek help if you need to.

3. Breathing exercises for speedy recovery and stress management

4. Connect with your near and dear ones – do regular check-ins.

5. Stick to a healthy routine – get up at a set time, focus on personal hygiene, eat nutrient-rich meals, get fresh air, do things you enjoy during isolation, practice light journaling etc.

6. Being kind to yourself – this is the one I struggled with the most. So, be kinder to yourself to heal faster.

7. Reach out for professional help – if you need medical intervention, do not hesitate to call your GP/Emergency.

Lastly, I genuinely hope that no one gets this life-threatening disease. Also, if you are eligible and have been/not been COVID affected – get vaccinated. Please remember that we are not out of the woods; not yet.

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