Avneet Kaur: ‘Be aware, don’t panic’

Avneet Kaur (26) got infected with the virus on March 26. While she started developing symptoms such as dry cough and continuous fever three days before testing positive, she recovered on April 14.

She said she contracted the virus from her mother. Both of them had attended a family function nearly a week ago before getting infected. A resident of Jalandhar Heights-2, Avneet works as a scribe and owing to her profession, she has to go out and meet people. Though she followed all precautions, the biggest challenge for her was to take care of her mother.

“My mother and I got ourselves tested from a government Covid care lab, the results of which initially scared us as my mother is also diabetic. We followed all medications prescribed by our doctors. Luckily, our oxygen level was normal and had only lost taste and smell. The persistent fever developed fatigue in our bodies. Without the support of our housemaid, things remained rough for initial days. But later, I started taking interest in everything and cleaning the house on my own kept me busy and happy. As, there are just two members in my family, I remember, during the road to recovery, I even cooked meals daily. This was the first time that I tried my hands in cooking. Healthy intake was advised by my doctor, so I used to scroll on Internet to look for healthy and tasty dishes,” said Avneet.

Due to adequate immunity in their bodies, the doctors instructed her and her mother to observe home-quarantine for 10 days, which extended to 20 days.

Avneet further said, “I strictly followed home isolation and if I needed anything, I used to call my friends, who would keep the things outside my door. Experiencing minor body aches and weakness, I kept myself isolated from my mother. We stayed in different rooms. Though we got a bit panicky, we preferred to stay quiet and focused on our recovery. Frequent video calls with my brother and sister made the recovery easy. Avoiding solid intake, we tried to increase fluids and protein in our diet. With the help of oximeter and thermometer, we regularly tracked our temperature and oxygen level. Though recovery process feels tough, one should not lose patience. I did not skip my exercise routine for even a day and also motivated my mother to follow breathing exercise. With the help of the health teams, I learnt more about the virus and guided others about the same through the social media.”

“All necessary precautions should be taken but once any symptom is experienced don’t generate unnecessary fear and doubts. Consult your doctor at the earliest. Proper sleep and a healthy diet were a big boost to keep the stress away,” added Avneet.