Unfortunately, while living my whole age of 24 years till today, I was recently infected by a foreign virus that is COVID-19. I was, therefore, home quarantine for 14 days. And in between this period of time, I thought to pen down my experience and share it with everyone. Somehow a good time and somehow a crucial one!
Pleasant moments are often followed by an unpleasant one. My engagement was fixed with a very charming and humble personality in early October. A single sentence can’t suffice about my fiancée. So I’ll tell this later in a separate story. The time for engagement preparation was very less and I started preparing for all the things including shopping. We have only two weeks to get things done.
With a 10 to 7 job, I managed all the stuff comfortably. I also went to the most crowded area in the old Ahmedabad city for my incomplete and remaining shopping. On that day, there was still one week for my engagement. All the things were being placed in its way slowly. Two days before, I started feeling cold and cough. 🤧 And the same, I have an extreme headache and also losing my smelling sense on the day before my engagement.
On my engagement day, besides this losing of the smelling sense, I was perfectly fit. And I also don’t know that this (losing of smelling sense) is the symptoms of COVID19. The engagement day was well spent. I didn’t tell about this except my dear brother-in-law. But somehow my fiancée caught that I was feeling unhealthy. I told her about this when I met her personally on that day. On the very next day, I consulted my family physician and started taking prescribed medicines.
When I went to my office and told my colleagues about this, I got to know that this might be a symptom of COVID19 😕 but at that time, I was not able to do my COVID test. On the second day, I went to the nearby Urban Health Centre just behind my office and carried out the Rapid Antigen test. The rapid test result was negative. Hence my doubt was still there to be COVID affected. Therefore I insisted for the RTPCR test immediately which takes 24hrs for the result.
After doing this test, I started feeling quite healthy but still, I was not able to smell anything. I waited for 26hrs and thought that my report must be negative because the testing team has the practice to inform only those who found positive. So I joined my office in the second half where I was suggested to take enough rest.
At around 4.45PM, I received a call that my RTPCR is positive 😷 and need to quarantine immediately. Hence I took leave from my office and reached home. I was thinking 🤔 that how this will be possible in a situation where my mother is also having bed rest due to a fracture in her leg and no one will be here to take care of me and my mother. Despite having a maid cum nurse for my mother 24*7, still, I cannot expect better care of me from her because she was hardly managing all the cares and treatments of my mother and other household stuff. But I had put faith in GOD and my quarantine period started.
These 14 days’ time was crucial but parallelly it was a golden time, too. I never ever lived far from my mother due to ups & downs related to her health. In my room, I was having everything for a good time to spend like a phone 📱, laptop 💻, newspaper 📰, and a good internet connection. But on the other side, I don’t want to lose my real social connections. I’m not talking about social media connections but a bond with my loved ones. I was completely in conversation with them frequently.
But it was going so hard that I could not tell everyone about my 14days’ quarantine. I told about this to only a few people which was only required to be known. So I and mom did every conversation on the phone calls separately. I was feeling bad for doing this and for telling everyone that everything is fine. The reason for not telling this to everyone was only that all my well-wishers always cares for me and mom all the time and I didn’t want them to feel unhappy for us. So here I apologize to every one of them to whom I didn’t tell about this.
Parallelly, I and my fiancée got a good time to be much closer just after engagement. So this period we spent very well. I also appreciate her and other in-laws for their moral support and care. Because of her 24*7 care, I also started caring for myself seriously. On another hand, my sister Rupal and brother-in-law Maulik Virparia were also worried and taking care of me constantly. I am very lucky to have such a caring family.
After 1-2 days from the start, my schedule of a whole day was set. Lots of food intakes, lots of phone calls & video calls, surfing on the internet, taking the steam 3 times, and so on. First 3-4 days, I was ok with my one-room living. But as time passed by, I started feeling bored and demotivated. Here you know the one reason behind this.
The second one I’ll tell you here. It was due to food. I love food so much that one can say for me In Gujarati like “Khavano Chattako!” I was not getting tasty foods as the food was being made by our maid. I used to eat food made by my mom and sister only. And at that time, I have to eat all made by the maid. I was really craving tasty food. But I always took each meal regularly to be fit against high mgs of medicines. Living against the desire for tasty food was becoming too hard for me. Then I thought that can’t I live without completing that desire which is not necessary to survive? Hence I forgot the thought about that craving. And I also tell you here that this food lover had good and tasty food only two times in the whole quarantine period. Another one is just coming ahead.
On the 5th day, I was thinking to gift something to my fiancée and her family on the upcoming Diwali festival. I started browsing for the best hamper for them. Because I was not able to go outside and choose the best one. I didn’t want to take any risk by sending a hamper which might disappoint them. I couldn’t find one even after lots of surfing. Then I thought about one which I can trust for direct gifting and that was Cadbury Joy Deliveries! Before this, I’ve already gifted to a friend on his marriage.
And this time, on the occasion of Diwali, they introduced lots of Diwali customized hamper on which you can print a photo of the hamper receiver and send wishes to them. It’s the best I’ve used for gifting till today.
But now was the matter to choose a good photo of my fiancée along with her other members. I searched everywhere on the social media profile but couldn’t find a good one. I also didn’t want to ask for a required photo by which they can get any clue about this. Thereafter I found one photo of my fiancée and brother in law. I chose it for the hamper and ordered one at my friend’s home on the second day. Let’s see how much they like it.
On the next day when I ordered this hamper, somehow I started feeling bored and lonely because it was the 7th day of quarantine. But I managed to pass that day with a small struggle. On that day my fiancée and her family did a very good cause in their hometown. They helped the needy child to get better food that day. So I was happy on that day and also proud of them.
Suddenly, on the 8th day, my mindset changed completely. When I was taking my morning bath, few thoughts came into my mind. And lots of positivity flown in. One of them was to write this story. This idea was also suggested by my dear brother-in-law, Maulik Virparia, at the starting of this period but somehow I took that advice lightly. But on that day, I had strongly decided to write this and also started without wasting any time. The other ideas I also want to execute in near future but I cannot tell you here because it might be surprising for someone special. On the same day, I managed to get tasty and quality food.
From that day, I used to write a few words about this daily along with other time pass things. The other two days after this, I felt too much bored in the second half of the day. Secondly, my mother was hardly managing his living without me. It was the first time when I lived separately from her for so long till the date. But I’m extremely motivated by my mother and fiancée & sister’s family. I always felt very happy after a good conversation with them.
On the 10th day, it was Saturday. I spend my day, as usual following my quarantine routine. Hence it was a normal day but only till the evening. Why? Because I managed to get a good tasty dish of Dalbati 😍 for dinner and that even was not made at my home though it was home-made. So my craving for tasty food satisfied somewhat on that day.
From the 11th day, Sunday, I started feeling happy because my quarantine period was near to get over very soon. My medicines were also near to be finished. I was eagerly waiting for the corporation health team to consult me because last time, they have consulted me 3-4 days ago. This also made my fiancée irritating how those guys were so careless in taking care of a patient having a serious infection. And in between, Sunday spent well.
On the next day, my friend called me that he received the hamper which I shipped to his home and ordered for my fiancée and her family. I saw all the photographs of it and got relaxed that it was just the same as expected. The perfect one!! But still, a few days to give it to them so I was hoping that they like it. Let see! On the other hand, I was waiting for the health team to come and consult me. They did not come yet. But on that Monday, I was completely fit except for the absence of a few percent in smelling senses.
Tuesday, 10th November became the last day of my quarantine in the morning suddenly. Let me tell you how. When corporation guys came home for the quarantine label outside my home at the starting of this period, they mistakenly miscounted the 14 days and wrote quarantine period of 28th to 11th which counts the 15days. But when waste collection guys came to my home for COVID waste on Tuesday, they told me that this was their mistake and I can over my quarantine period tomorrow. So finally and legally, it was my last day. I felt extremely happy about that. So Count all these days I mentioned in this story as explained.
Now I’ll tell you about Independence Day. That is the first day after 14 day’s quarantine period. As usual, after taking my breakfast and my morning bath, I met my mother. As I said earlier in this story, I never lived so long far away from her. So happiness was at the peak. Then as per the COVID protocol, I went to do my rapid test at nearby UHC (Urban Health Centre). But I didn’t know that protocol itself changed in this period. The UHC guys told me that if you have any serious symptoms regarding the COVID then only we will carry out any type of test. I tried contacting other authorized people to help me but they said right to me in the morning.
Then I managed to clean some stuff that was absolutely required to be done at this festival because all the things I could not able to do at that time. I did some vacuuming, installed recently washed curtains of all windows, and cleaning of my mother’s medical equipment. I had some amazing snacked in the evening, prepared by my so caring fiancée and our beloved mother (my mother-in-law 😊) which was extremely tasty 😋 Yes and hence the first day after the quarantine was too good. Still, my smelling sensation is not recovered completely, I am going to take enough rest and care for a few more days which is also possible due to Diwali vacations.
I just want to say at last that this 14 day period was a golden time for me. Lots of things I have learned while living it. I knew that lots of near ones really cares for me. All of them I never want to lose in my entire life. I also understood the importance of life and all the cares which I have to include in daily routine. I don’t scare for COVID but I understood that my ignorant to that can be dangerous for me as well as others, too.
Hence I wish that all the people in this world successfully beat the COVID and also they get all the strength for living this crucial time. What all can do is to be positive (mentally) and take all the required precautions.
A very big thank you to all my family members and well-wishers for supporting in this hard time.
And also thank you to read all the story till here. Will see you in another good one. Have a good day 🙂
