A period of Pause, Recovery and Regeneration of Covid Patients at Yamuna Sports Complex Covid Care Centre
By Pushplata Bhardwaj
It's all alive but stayed in time. Second wave of Covid-19 was on its peak in the months of April and May, 2021. Mrs. Vinay Jain was discharged from the Yamuna Sports Complex Covid Care Centre (YSC CCC) after recovering from the Covid. I was asked by my superiors to get her feedback on the quality of patient care services she received at YSC CCC, to assess the patient satisfaction level on a quantitative questionnaire on a rating scale of 1 to 5. Collecting rating numbers was just a transition that opened doors for me to experience some profound, emotional and courageous journeys of people recovering from Covid-19.
Mrs. Vinay began - “Preparation for a marriage ceremony was undergoing at my home. Everyone was occupied. Suddenly, my health deteriorated due to Covid and I was admitted to the facility. Everything from the process of admission to treatment has been regular. The behaviour of the staff touched me. With love, everyone addressed me DADI (Grandmother). And being called DADI felt like living with an Extended family. I gained a family along with health”.
This seems normal. Simultaneously, what fascinated me is to explore the dimension of social, emotional and behavioural factors that could play a determining and encouraging role in the patient's recovery, during their stay in a medical facility.
And I embarked on an interesting search to probe into it. I prepared 5-6 questions and kept an open ended dialogue with the patients, who were interested in sharing their side of story or meaningful insights with me.
Mr. Saurabh Kapoor (a patient) was very kind and brave in agreeing to talk to me. Moment was critical. When he started, I could see tears floating in his eyes.
“I lost my father to Covid, a week ago. It's very difficult for me to face this. I could not even express what I am going through. Moral support from Doctors helped me survive this”.
Mrs. Meghna Agrawal is a mother to an 8 month old boy. “I miss my son. I am afraid that my son is too small and might forget that I am his mother. Means of Communications are great at the facility. I am staying connected to my Son on video Calls. I am eager to see my Son, when I get back home.”
Mrs. Kavita Gulati and Mrs. Rajesh Gulati, a beautiful couple/partners were strength for each other. If left alone, Mr. Rajesh Gulati might have given Up - “We played songs, talked at length and spent quality time with each other. The environment to recreate Our Togetherness with Hopeful Recreation Activities strengthened our Will Power, Inner Motivation that saved us”.
Mr. Rajesh Bhardwaj and Ms. Nikita found solace in Books (Religious Books, Stories, Novels, etc) and held on to hope. “The environment is free from tensions or fear. We also see harmony in coordination and efficiency in management from top to bottom hierarchy.”
Mr. Sant Kumars told us that “I am content that my family is being updated on my health status by Doctors on phone to my family daily. It is comforting, gives me relief and decreases the anxiety level of my family members.”
Mr. Praveen Suri and Mr. Swapan Gupta after getting better spent time in motivating and inspiring other patients around them. The bond of friendship and neighborhood has been as enriching as Oxygen. Mr. Praveen Suri said “Attitude of Look for what you can do for others, not the other way round - When I was admitted to the YSC, I often dreamt of collapsing even in my dreams. But Doctors took good care of me. Within 2-3 days, I felt better and independent in doing my daily routine. On recovering, I motivated and inspired other patients, who were sad or not eating well. I became friends to many and found good friends.”
Mrs. Usha Walia’s eyes were lit up to see his son, who came to pick her up and her wish to again reunite with the family was finally realized after 15 days.
Counseling on mental health by Doctors helped number of patients in realising not to take their life for granted. Few showed determination to incorporate lifestyle modifications in their individual lives, while couple of them committed to start spend their life meaningfully and explore purpose. Some found peace of mind while the younger ones became more conscious of following Covid appropriate behaviour. Few who lost their jobs due to Covid were hopeful for new start…
Mrs. Rama Pathak and Ms. Namita Raut were happy to get a new life and regain consciousness at the facility with all the hard work of doctors and team. Ms. Namita Raut shared “Look at me, I am feeling so happy and going so happily” and Mrs. Rama Pathak added “Jindagi lekar Jaa Rahi hoon. YSC ki facilities ki jitni tarif karoon utni kam hai” [I am taking life with me, I don’t have words to thank YSC facility]. At my home, everyone was Covid positive. We were not able to pick even a glass of water or pick a plate. My health went from bad to worse. I was admitted here and got a new life at YSC. Facilities at YSC are comparable to an established private hospital. Whatever praise I do, would be insufficient/less/inadequate. I am so thankful to Doctors for You team”
At YSC I was deployed for a short tenure of around 15 days much of which I spent interacting with the Covid-19 patients which luckily turned out to be a lifelong learning. Maybe the future opens a door to viewpoints of patients in recreating medical facilities and founding it on principles that fast track recovery rate in hospitals/medical facilities “The old of you must change so a better you can be born”