Vimala Sharma

Vimala Sharma, wife of former President of India Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma was discharged from AIIMS trauma centre on Thursday evening, days after she tested positive for Covid-19. The 93-year-old is among the oldest to have recovered from the virus in the capital.

According to her family, her oxygen levels started dipping on June 5 after which she was tested, and her reports came positive on June 6.
“To our horror, her report was positive and we immediately rushed her to AIIMS. It came as a shock as she doesn’t go out of the house at all. The first four days, her condition did deteriorate a bit. I know she is 93 but losing her to a virus would have been the worst…,” her son Ashutosh Dayal Sharma told The Indian Express.

While admitted for almost 18 days, she was not put on ventilator support. Her family didn’t lost hope and spoke to her twice during her entire stay. “The biggest challenge is that you are cut off from all known faces. But it is important not to panic…,” he said.

Fifteen days after the admission, she was tested again and her reports came out negative. “On Tuesday, we started planning the discharge. We were in touch with Dr Neeraj Nischal, who was helping us with her treatment. The whole family is extremely happy that we got her home. It’s still a long road… she is on nasal oxygen support of 2-3 litres per hour,” said Ashutosh.

Doctors said apart from antibiotics, she was on a high flow nasal cannula – a technique through which a high amount of oxygen can be delivered. “If that doesn’t work, then we put the patient on a ventilator. During this time, it is important for the family and patient not to lose hope. All is not lost, even if you develop Covid. People must take precautions and seek help if their condition worsens,” said a senior doctor at AIIMS.