This too shall pass away.. A month after the complete lockdown was announced my mother got a call from her boss saying that the laboratory would be resuming as usual from the next day.

The 14 days of quarantine was the worst possible thing that had happened to me. The feeling of been closed in a place where you are not allowed to go out of a room and no one is allowed to enter the room, where the food and water were felt outside and I was constantly checking the pulse and taking medicines.


The start 2-3 days were fine where it seemed to be necessary due to the weakness in the body but as the days passed I was also becoming healthy where there was a point that I thought this is not necessary now. But I couldn’t do anything but wait and complete the 14 days. The level of stress increased to an extent that my mother and father thought I had a mental breakdown because I started yelling at them for no particular reason since there was this feeling of being in jail without committing any crime .


The most random yet terrifying thoughts came rushing to my mind, the fear of death, losing loved ones, and what if something happens? 

Inside the house of a covid positive patient. My grandfather tested positive for COVID when least expected. It was shocking news and we didn’t have any idea what to do next. BMC officers visited us that day and performed a COVID test on the whole family. I couldn’t believe the fact that the virus which had killed millions had entered my house.

When she broke the news out to us there was complete silence. The first thing I said after the silent pause was “Mumma you are not going anywhere.” The last two weeks had been such an emotional rollercoaster since my aunt had died due to COVID-19. My mother had yet not recovered from the shock of losing her sister. 

When my mom wasn’t around, I asked my dad why he had no reaction to which he said that it would be a good distraction for her to recover from the shock as she would be busy in her work. I wasn’t really convinced by what he said but I half-heartedly accepted the fact that she had to go. 

 

Suddenly my grandfather’s oxygen level started decreasing and he was having problems breathing. But the condition outside was so bad that there wasn’t a single bed available to get him admitted. We had to rush to Sion hospital urgently as there was a bed available. After reaching the hospital, I couldn’t believe the sight I was witnessing, COVID patients were being admitted in general wards and there was no one to take care of the admitted patients. No guidelines were followed and the worst part is that the hospital was falling so short of staff members that they told us to stay there and look after my Grandpa!! The condition outside is really traumatizing and I hope no one experiences the things which I and my family went through. Please take care of yourself and your families and educate people who don’t take it seriously because the condition is way worse than you think it is!

The next morning, I gathered some courage to see her off. No calls throughout the day,I was anxiously waiting for her to be back home.


This routine was becoming normal day by day. I realized after a few days that it's not the time to always be sad but find a positive side to it.


I needed to tell her how proud I was of her that even during these difficult times she was contributing her bit to society by putting in danger her health. To date, this hasn’t changed. Of course, it is scary but I am so so proud of her. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been people working every single day at risk to their health and perhaps even their lives to make sure that the rest of us can live a life that is nearly as normal as possible. There are probably tons of other essential workers toiling away during the pandemic. They all deserve our gratitude.