Of lives lost & helpless kin

Naina Mishra

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 24

Covid-19 snuffed out 231 lives this month, the highest monthly toll since the pandemic hit the city last year.

Several Covid patients died because they reported late to hospitals after their oxygen levels dropped.

Amit Garg, a 36-year-old resident of Sector 40, who lost his mother to Covid-19, said: “My mother had fallen ill but we did not get a test conducted as the fever lasted only a day. After four days, my mother’s oxygen dropped to 63 suddenly. We rushed her to the PGI emergency at night, while my wife was taking care of my father at home. In the meantime, my father’s sugar level spiked arbitrarily and we rushed him to a private hospital. My mother was being intubated the next day and could not be saved. I did not tell my father as he was also hospitalised. Only five of our family cremated my mother and we grieved in silence.”

His father is currently undergoing Covid treatment at the private hospital.

A 38-year-old resident, Amandeep Garg, lost both his parents in two days last month. His parents were under home isolation after the Covid test. After 10 days of home isolation, both of them started complaining of difficulty in breathing. “My mother was an Alzheimer’s patient, so already immunocompromised. She could not survive a day in the hospital and died of cardiac arrest. My father was gasping for breath in the hospital and despite being given the best of treatment, he could not be saved. From what I understand, he was depressed inside the hospital and wanted to come back home. I still cannot believe this happened to us.”

Prateek Rishi, a caretaker, shared: “One day, I received a call from a woman residing in Australia stating that she needs immediate help. The patient was suffering from acute depression and was diabetic. His oxygen levels were brought under control at a government hospital and doctors advised the patient to go back home. After a couple of days, the patient again started complaining of difficulty in breathing. After spending a week in a private hospital, he died.”

Dr Paramjit Singh, Deputy Medical Superintendent of the GMSH, Sector 16, and anaesthetist, said: “The main reason behind the increase in fatalities is that many patients report late after developing hypoxia. They treat themselves at home and by the time they seek medical intervention, it gets too late. We could not save patients who required invasive ventilation in the second wave. In the second wave, many patients who died had comorbidities also. Besides, the overwhelming of ICUs in city hospitals was also a reason behind more deaths as many could not get timely treatment.”