The young patient, who lives near Tadiwala Road in Pune station area, narrated his experience, his determination to overcome the challenge posed by the disease and his mistake in delayed treatment. (Representational)

A 30-year-old critical patient has recovered from Covid-19 at YCM hospital. The patient is a resident of Pune station area and was brought to YCM hospital from Naidu Hospital 15 days back.

“An 80-year-old patient and a 30-year-old patient, who have been discharged, were both critical. Both had pneumonia, which is considered a critical stage and both were in intensive care unit for nearly 10 days,” said Prof Pravin Soni, head, Department of Medicine, YCM hospital. Both the 30-year-old and the senior citizen, who were discharged on Saturday, are residents of PMC limits.

Prof Soni said both the patients have recovered after they gave them a combination of low molecular weight heparin and tablets of hydrochloroquine. “This is working with the patients and we are witnessing solid recovery by adopting method of treatment which is as per the government guidelines. The recovery of these two critically-ill patients is a major achievement for our team,” Prof Soni said.

The young patient, who lives near Tadiwala Road in Pune station area, narrated his experience, his determination to overcome the challenge posed by the disease and his mistake in delayed treatment.

“First I had fever. I went to a local clinic, took a pill. Next day, the fever was gone. And then for 15 days, nothing happened. After that, I started coughing and had fever. I went to Ruby Hall Clinic. They put me on saline. I felt better. Three days later, I again started coughing. My spit had turned reddish. Then I went to Naidu hospital and told them everything. By this time, the fear of coronavirus was playing on my mind,” he said.

At Naidu Hospital, the doctors carried a battery of tests on him and sent his throat swab sample to NIV. “I realised there was some bad news for me. I was scared, but I held on to my nerves. The same night I was brought to YCM hospital. As I was finding it difficult to breathe, the doctors put me on oxygen,” the patient said.

Next day, the doctors told him that he has tested positive for the coronavirus.

He said for next nine days, he was in the ICU and on oxygen support. “I was mostly bedridden. There was hardly any communication with other patients. Doctors used to come on rounds and helped increase by confidence. They used to constantly tell me that there was improvement in my condition and I will recover. These were motivating words. I would like to thank the doctors for helping me recover from a critical condition,” he said. He lives with his mother, who was quarantined at Kharadi institutional facility.

On the tenth day, when the nurse told him that he should try walking on his own without oxygen support, it infused a new wave of energy in him. “The nurse told me that I was on the path to recovery and should try moving around. I did and succeeded in moving around without the help of oxygen. From here on, I became confident. My determination to succeed helped me overcome the biggest challenge of my life,” he said.

The moment he was diagnosed with coronavirus and his close relatives learnt about him, all of them started fasting and praying for him. “I didn’t know this until I returned home. All my uncles, aunties and several other relatives in Mumbai and Ahmednagar started fasting and praying for me,” he said.

The youngster says he want to advise people not to delay the treatment and not harbour fear of the disease. “In my case, I delayed treatment. Coronavirus was on top of the mind. So I delayed taking proper treatment. There was a coronavirus patient found in our area, I should have sought treatment when I developed symptoms. But because of the fear, I avoided it,” he said.