Gilgit:
I lived my worst nightmare. It wasn’t the coronavirus, but the prolonged treatment (read: observation) in isolation that made it a hellish experience. Imagine being confined to a small room with no social interaction at all for about a month. The only visitors were the doctors and nurses, who also checked on me once or twice a day.
If you are sick, you need your loved ones around you. Feeling that there is someone who cares about you gives you the strength to fight the disease. Conversely, social isolation makes you more vulnerable to disease. Your immune system does not respond properly in isolation and takes longer to heal.
In my case, I was not alone; My wife also shared the ordeal of isolation in Mohammadabad Hospital, Daniyur, Gilgit-Baltistan. Interestingly, she did not show any symptoms, but tested positive for the virus. We were both in the isolation ward, while our five children were at home – alone and anxious.
The ordeal began after a trip to Iran. My wife and I went as part of a group of 22 pilgrims to visit the holy sites in Iran. We stayed most of the time in Qom, although the Hajj also took us to Mashhad and neighboring Iraq.
Survivor tales: ‘I’ve never seen doctors dressed like aliens’
On February 22, we were preparing to return to Pakistan when we heard about an outbreak of some infectious diseases in the city of Qom. Until then, I didn’t know much about the coronavirus.
On February 25, we took a trip to Lahore. At Tehran airport, they did not allow anyone to board the plane without examination. None of us were sick. At Lahore airport, we were checked again. We traveled to Rawalpindi where we stayed for two days. While my fellow pilgrims dispersed, we boarded a bus to Gilgit on February 28 and reached our village Nomal, about 15 kilometers from Gilgit city, in the evening.
At night I felt feverish. Jet-lagged, I took over-the-counter fever-reducing medication from my neighbor and tried to sleep. Didn’t help. I started to feel goosebumps.
The next morning, I called Gilgit District Main Hospital and told the doctors about my travel and fever. Immediately a team of doctors came to see me and my wife. We were then taken to DHQ Hospital in an ambulance. They took samples to test us for the new Corona virus, while we were transferred to the Civil Hospital pool. The samples were sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad for PCR testing as the facility was not available in Gilgit-Baltistan. I lost my appetite but tried to force myself to feed myself so I could muster some energy to fight my illness. A few days later, our test reports were received from the National Institutes of Health: We had tested positive for COVID-19.
After the diagnosis, they transferred us to Muhammadabad Hospital, where we were to stay for 25 days. Interestingly, the fever is now gone, while I have no cough, no muscle pain, no sore throat, and no shortness of breath. My appetite returned to normal (I started eating more than usual). My wife remained asymptomatic all this time.
Survivors’ tales: How I became Pakistan’s first COVID-19 patient
I am a 51 year old ex-serviceman and my wife is 45 years old. I have heard that the coronavirus can be fatal to people my age or older. The doctors sought to reassure me. But honestly, I wasn’t afraid at all. It is part of our belief that every living being must die one day. I knew that if I was destined to die, I would die no matter what. But if my time doesn’t come, this virus will never be able to kill me.
We were tested several times during our nightmare 25 day stay. We had no symptoms, but still tested positive. I heard that my wife’s reports were mixed up with another patient’s reports at the National Institutes of Health.
Fortunately, a PCR testing facility was made available in Gilgit in the meantime and we were tested locally for the first time. The results were negative, and a repeat test the next day confirmed that the virus had left our bodies. That was a huge relief.
We were discharged from the hospital on March 28, but the doctors said we should avoid social contact for 14 days. We rented a house in Gilgit city to spend these two weeks here. It’s been five days now and we’re counting down the days until we’re completely free.
My advice to patients: Do not be afraid of this virus. Maintain your trust in God and strengthen your will, God willing, you will defeat it. To everyone, I say take all possible precautions. If not to worry about the virus, consider the distress that isolation can cause.
(Narrated by Naveed Hussain)