It’s ‘kaapi’ time again for India’s oldest virus-hit couple in Kerala

Covid fatality has hit the ageing population, burdened with a slew of co-morbidities, the most. But not this couple from Kerala and a handful of nonagenarians from Kolkata. They all battled the virus, and won
They are India’s oldest married couple to get infected by the Coronavirus. But, when Thomas Abraham, 93, and his wife Mariamma, 89, from Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district survived the onslaught, they came out of it with a message — it’s never too late to learn to savour life better.
The couple was in hospital for 25 days, most of it in ICU, after contracting the disease in March from their son who had returned from Italy. Thomas and Mariamma had several old-age related health issues from diabetes and hypertension to cardiac problems. In the initial days, Thomas’s health deteriorated and he was put on a ventilator. He also suffered a cardiac arrest.

As the couple’s condition seemed to worsen by the day, the state waited with bated breath. The couple had been admitted in separate rooms and that was one aspect that intrigued the doctors. “We had never stayed separately since our marriage. Living even a second without seeing each other was unimaginable,” said Thomas, who had married Mariamma 73 years ago, when she was 16 and he 20.
Sensing that there could be a psychological toll, the doctors soon shifted them to the transplant ICU where both could see each other. This seemed to work miracles.
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While in hospital, they had never expected to see their children and grandchildren again or to celebrate Christmas. “I used to cry at night, calling out their names and asking where they were,” she Mariamma. The nurses on duty had a tough time consoling her and get her to rest.
Now, life is back to normal for the couple trying to make the best of every day – morning prayers, followed by ‘kattan kaapi’ (black coffee) together and even catching up on local gossip from other senior citizens in the neighbourhood.
No nervous 90s for these bravehearts of Bengal
Sripoti Naiban (in the pic) was born in 1921, three years after the Spanish flu struck. He lost both his parents when he was seven to a cholera epidemic. Now at 99, he is Bengal’s oldest Covid survivor.
Salkia resident Govinda Haldar (95) and Lal Mohan Sett (94) of Bidhan Sarani in Kolkata, both Covid positive, have also recovered. All three have one aspect in common, they have all led a disciplined life. These three required only oxygen support to recover, in just a few days.

This story is part of a series in association with Facebook. Facebook has no editorial role in this story.