Hey reader,

How often have you been asked to stay positive or to stay optimistic? Probably, we hear it every other day. Optimism and Hope are very much related. However, the real world sometimes is exactly the opposite of what we hope for and be optimistic for. I used to be more optimistic than realistic as it at least gives hope, though what lacks in it is the “practicality” which exists in a realistic approach. A recent event actually proved the need for this transition.

Sometimes you’ve got to put your realistic glasses on and see who you are.

Will Muschamp

In the second half of September, my mother was having some trouble with stomach and as doctors do it these days, asked for getting the COVID test also done. Along with her, my father also went on and get himself tested as well. My mother got a negative but my father got a positive, yes COVID positive. Getting positive is one thing, but what happened after it actually much different than what we get to hear around us about COVID, preparations and response system.

In our state, there is a rule that anyone who is above 60 years of age who gets a COVID positive, needs to get hospitalised regardless he is symptomatic or asymptomatic, he has any problem or any difficulty or not. It is understandable that authorities are trying to reduce the mortality rate but there are plenty of such people who are not senior citizens, have more trouble, and require immediate attention. As per the rule, from the test centre itself, COVID positive senior citizens will be taken to the Govt. Hospital. Now, what happens at a Govt. Hospital stays at the Govt. Hospital (It won’t be wrong to say that). The ambulance after a rash and risky drive to the hospital will leave you inside the hospital campus and leave.. like no instructions whatsoever, just leave and go for the next trip. Earlier hearing the ambulance siren, I used to fear a little but now I think I know what’s happening mostly out there (A realistic thought).

The patient, the senior citizen has arrived at hospital campus (alone) and what he needs to do is to stand in scorching heat and humid environment and go from one counter to another for registration, testing, etc, from one doctor to another and no place to rest. This is how Govt. authorities are trying to reduce the mortality rate by pushing the senior citizens into the hospital with a plethora of processes. Taking the shade beside boundary walls sometimes, to get the relief in shadow. This all sounded more of a prison than a hospital, honestly. No clean supply of drinking water, too (and in rush, we also forgot to hand him a bottle of water). One person is facing all these troubles at a COVID centre and the rest of the family is sitting at home as can’t do much about it. After 2-3 hours, the doctor tests and finds everything normal and on request allows for the home isolation. Normally, one would think that the ambulance will send the COVID positive back home, but no, one is free to go back with either way he wishes to go back, be it public transport or private or can visit anywhere in the state, as at all the places, only temperature is checked which was all normal. So, just for your optimism, if you think cases are down or going down, COVID positives are all around you, freely moving. How safe is going out or using public transport is all upon your choice.

Now, finally, he was back home where we had a room prepared for him for the next 10-14 days. Another thing of concern here was the testing kits. The Antigen testing vs the RT-PCR tests. The Antigen test just gives Positive/Negative test result while the RT-PCR test gives Positive with a CT-Value (Cycle Threshold Value) which tells how severe is the infection or the Negative. If the CT Value is less than 30, there are chances of some serious problems and also the probabilities of spreading the virus to others are higher than someone with the CT Value more than 30. These values are nowhere in Antigen testing, and also the Positive/Negative value is considered to be 40% flawed which mean there are false-positive or false-negative results. The Govt. authorities do 90% of antigen tests. Just to be sure, we got the RT-PCR test also done and got positive there as well but with CT Value of around 33.

This home isolation is more of an emotional battle than the battle against the virus. One can not sit next to the patient and just talk from the distance. The most painful moment was giving food. We had to put his meals in his dishes placed at a stool at the room entrance and from there he will pick up the food. Same goes with water. It really feels bad to give someone meals this way, and often I and my mother used to have arguments for having that strictness of having the curtain of the room closed and all, but that was all for everyone’s safety and my father totally understood. This emotional battle lasted for 10-11 days, and finally, he was tested negative on October 5. And with all the hefty sanitization, life slowly getting back to the normal routine.

Thanks to all the prayer and wishes and some amazing people out there who are doing so great work and not even thanked enough. Our RWA (residents association) president, who was always in touch and get regular updates about health, also talked to the doctor at Govt. Hospital on the first day and requested for Home Isolation. Our society supervisor, who was always there to bring the essentials from the market and drop at our doorstep as we can’t go out. The people who used to ask every other day about dad’s health whenever they see us in our balcony. The people who called out every other day to know if everything is fine and if we need something. The people who are helping with something called a community kitchen where if there is any family who has one or more COVID positive and not able to work or cook, they will cook the food and get it delivered at there home for free. My manager and colleague who were very helpful and understanding and offloaded my work during these times. My lifetime friends (for a reason) Prabhu and Akshay, who nonetheless of the problems in their life, been in touch and kept me positive.

Watching all this, it won’t be wrong to say that humanity exists, and it exists at the places where we don’t expect at all. We hope of things from the people we know and some call it expectations, and we start staying optimistic about it, and then there are things that happen and there are people that make it happen in our real life, and yet we ignore at times to be realistic. Even if I compare the life year or 6 months back to now, there is a paradigm shift. Things have changed and so are the people, or maybe I realised it now that people don’t talk, they just reply. Having said that, there is one video that I came across today morning by Jay Shetty, that you should definitely look at.

On similar lines, someone I recently talked to said a very genuine thing which I believe is cent per cent true for today:

Basically nothing matters, and everybody and everything is stupid. So just go and be stupid and do things that don’t matter.

We all are actually stupid, rather staying in the real world where the beautiful, as well as challenging things, happen, stay in the optimistic world where nothing happens. My father once said it with another beautiful example of a mirror. We look at the mirror and look for the optimistic things, however, the mirror shows everything.. both the optimistic as well as realistic, but we being stupid just ignore the realistic facts.

During all this, one thing that really made me happy was seeing that I was able to inspire someone to write as well. It feels great to see people getting inspired by you but also it comes with a responsibility that inspiration remains for good only. One of my sisters has started writing blogs and shared her COVID experience, so do visit it as well and get to know more of how different people are reacting to the pandemic, including the governments as well as authorities. Here is her blog: https://liferealityitis.blogspot.com/2020/09/my-covid-experience.html

Problems will always be there, hope will be there as well and so will be the unseen challenges, but don’t forget to look around you. Maybe there is someone you know who may help you out, or maybe someone who you know and will never help you out. That’s true, but also, people will be out there who are none to you but still, will help you out in the most unimaginable and unbelievable way.

Take Care!
– Navneet