A strong feeling of relief combined with a whirlwind of other high emotions consumed 27-year-old Suraj Baboolall upon finding out that he may not suffer the same fate as his mother who died due to complications arising from COVID-19.
“I felt a rush of joy because I was like, I actually beat this. I had it and now I am one of the lucky few to beat it,” Suraj expressed during a telephone interview with Guyana Times on Monday.
The young man, along with three other family members, had tested positive for the potentially deadly infectious disease and were in a Government isolation facility for some 22 days.
Other relatives, who tested negative, were quarantined due to their exposure to 52-year-old Ratna Baboolall, the country’s first imported case of COVID-19.
On April 7, Suraj along with his father and brother were cleared to go home, after having recovered from the virus.
With the novel coronavirus responsible for thousands of deaths worldwide, Suraj felt fortunate to have been among those who improved.
“I feel amazing to beat this…I kept thinking to myself ‘am I gonna be okay in the morning or is something gonna happen to me overnight’ because after reading all these reports about the virus and what it could do, I was scared,” he explained.
But upon hearing the news that he was no longer infected, Suraj said: “I could have literally cried for joy the way I felt, finally getting to come out and put my mom to rest.”
Since his mother died on March 11, the family was unable to mourn properly. Whilst being completely grief-stricken, they were immediately confronted with a new reality – one where their own lives could be in danger.
The entire world, as they knew it, was turned upside down in the blink of an eye.
Now that some relatives have recovered or have been cleared of having the virus, the family can finally plan a decent farewell for their loved one.
But even as they have finally been afforded the time to properly mourn, the family is still confronted with other challenges, one being the fact that more relatives are now COVID-19 positive.
COVID-19 positive
Initially, four family members who tested COVID-19 positive were in isolation (Suraj, his brother, his father and his niece) while nine, who were negative, were in quarantine.
Then recently, when they were retested, the results showed that Suraj, his brother, and his father recovered. His niece, however, was still positive.
Additionally, three relatives who were in quarantine had tested positive.
For Suraj, mourning his mother’s death whilst worrying about the health of his other family members has taken a toll.
In fact, he is even more concerned about being reinfected. On Friday last, South Korea reported that 91 coronavirus patients who were believed to have recovered from the virus were tested positive again.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced subsequently that it is investigating those reports.
The situation has left Suraj worried, given that initially, he, along with his relatives who had tested positive, were asymptomatic, ie they were showing no signs of being infected.
Nevertheless, the young man is grateful for the follow-up calls by medical workers as well as the continued psychosocial support the family is receiving.
Journey to recovery
According to Suraj, there really was no special regimen employed to ensure he and his family recovered.
In fact, he said most of the days were spent sleeping or on the phone.
His day would routinely start at around 06:30h, when doctors would run tests to ensure their conditions are okay.
They would then have breakfast, after which, he said, most of the time he would just go back to sleep.
After some time in the Government facility, Suraj said the family requested to procure their own meals.
He said unlike the meals being provided by the Government, their meals were packed with vegetables and fruits, with tons of vitamins sure to boost one’s immune system.
Explaining that a typical breakfast provided by the Government would be bread and sardine, Suraj posited that “that’s not going to boost your immune system…they need to provide fruits and more vegetables.”
Meanwhile, he noted that another critical aspect of the journey to recovery is to ensure you stay calm. Suraj urged persons not to take on any additional stress, and to just focus on staying healthy.
For persons who are heading in to institutional quarantine or isolation, he is also urging them to take reading materials or other items to keep them meaningfully occupied, as the days can get boring.
And most importantly, Suraj said persons need to have hope.
More challenges
Losing a loved one is already difficult, but somehow losing someone due to COVID-19 hits differently, according to Suraj.
“Losing my mom was stressful, it meant that a part of me was really gone, but then when we learnt that she died of COVID-19, the stress level went up by 1000,” Suraj stated.
He contended that if the family had known his mother was infected, they never would have travelled to Guyana.
The New York-based Guyanese woman was making her annual Phagwah visit to the country when she took ill and subsequently passed away at the Georgetown Public Hospital. She became the country’s Patient Zero after she posthumously tested positive for COVID-19.
He posited that if only the family had known about the virus beforehand, maybe his mother could have been alive today.
Moreover, the family is also emotionally distressed about losing millions of dollars’ worth of valuables and other sentimental items during a home invasion whilst they were in quarantine and isolation facilities.
Despite a promise from the authorities that their home would be protected during their time in the Government facilities, their house was broken into on March 27.
It was only until some family members were cleared to go home that they were able to assess their losses.
According to Suraj, over three million dollars in cash and valuables were stolen. Among those was an heirloom which belonged to his mother.
With the heirloom stolen, Suraj lamented: “that meant a part of her was stolen from us.”
Stigma and discrimination
And, as if life couldn’t get any worse, the family also has to deal with unprecedented levels of discrimination.
Moreover, not only are random persons discriminating against their relatives, but also persons who reside in the same community.
COVID-19 discrimination is popping up in all forms worldwide. In Guyana, healthcare workers are facing various forms of discrimination, from not being allowed to access public transportation to not being allowed to enter supermarkets.
But Suraj is urging persons to be kind to the healthcare workers who are on the frontline of the country’s battle against this life-threatening virus.
He reflected on his own experience, noting that the medical staff were very helpful. “They were scared but they worked with us, they came to work every day and made sure we were doing okay.”
As of April 13, Guyana has 47 confirmed COVID-19 cases, six of which resulted in deaths while eight were recoveries.