Page 48 - Dental Practice Vol 17 No.5_

Covid-19 Survivor Stories

MY RENDEZVOUS WITH A FRIEND

Dr. Bimal Mehta shares his journey, his battle and his takeaway from this experience

I always choose to call anyone who teaches me a lesson - my friend. constantly.
And when that friend comes along with a tight kick on the back side, The seriousness of it all started to sink in when my CRP readings
the lesson becomes even more difficult to forget. Ironically, the novel turned out to be off the charts.
Corona virus has been that one friend. In March, 2020 - our lives But my spirit was relentless and I knew that I had to get back
changed forever. The entire globe was submerged in pain and suffer- home. At that point my doctor, Dr. Jayant Pandit was like an angel,
ing but the diehard spirit of mankind won with its resilience and sur- guarding me and helping me overcome this testing time. He is very
vived through the “1st Round” of the wave. unlike a lot of doctors who conventionally treat their patients. His
Lots of lessons were left behind. We realized how little we needed biggest quality is that he absorbs the pain and suffering of his patients
to survive and conversely how much we wasted to “maintain” a and is willing to go to any extent to make certain that his patient sails
social status lifestyle. The eternal Kishore Kumar number - “Thoda through. I am truly blessed to have him in my life.
Hai Thode Ki Zaroorat hai” made so much more sense. We realized From there on things started to brighten up and my fight with the
that eating at home can be so much fun; bonding with family (minus virus and the sepsis was slowly turning the tide in my favour. The
the WiFi) can be such a great way to spend time. Suddenly there was strength was restored and the lungs had started to breathe again. As
time for everything. I write this on 13th June (after about 12 days) which incidentally also
Then came 2021 and everyone expected normalcy again. But our is my father’s birthday, I sit here on the hospital bed, sipping onto a
friend wasn’t done as yet. The second wave of the virus hit the world cup of black coffee and staring at the Sea Link, wondering what I
with a much greater intensity. Even with vaccinations in full swing all have learnt from this friend.
around the globe, our friend was ahead. Once again, it was trying to Well I’d say I learnt a lot in the past 1 year but these 2 weeks was
teach us the morals of social distancing, sanitization like a crash course.
and above all, respecting the furies and the laws of The biggest take away was how easily and conve-
nature and how we have tried to manipulate it and niently we take everything for granted - Health
capitulated in doing so. being on the top of the list. It is only after such inci-
Like many who were trying to sew their lives dents in your life that you realise there is so much
together, I was also working every day to keep afloat more to living beyond what we’ve been pursuing so
and being in the healthcare industry, I was oath driv- far. Admittedly I too was a part of that rat race but
en and bound to serve my patients. It was a Tuesday, I think somewhere it has made me realize that we
31st May, when I thought something was amiss. I felt have forgotten how to actually live. We have forgot-
weak in my knees and my body had started to send ten how to enjoy the smallest pleasures of life which
chilly waves from the scalp to the toe. On 2nd June I are so abundantly present around us and which we
was walking down the Triage area of the famous unknowingly lose, in an attempt to scale up our
Lilavati Hospital waiting to be ushered onto the 8th materialistic needs. I realized that even listening to
floor which was a designated “green zone”. An one song and paying attention to the notes and
immediate action was implemented considering that lyrics can give you pleasure. Happiness is within us.
I might go into respiratory distress. My Sp02 levels We need to reach for it. We need to identify it. And
had shown constant signs of a drop. After a few then nurture it. This was the most important lesson
pricks for the blood work and IV line establishments, that our friend taught me. Value everything that
it actually dawned upon me that this was the first time I had ever been you have. Feel blessed with what life has given you. Thank the
hospitalized. It certainly wasn’t the best space to be in. Universe for keeping you afloat. I bet you will feel that life is not so
The mental strength needed to sail through such times does come bad after all. At this point I’d like to make a special mention of our
from your immediate core family besides the friends who are an inte- families too. In an attempt to reach the top we sometimes ignore
gral part of your life. Ironically these are the very situations which them. Please don’t do this as you will rue this for life. My family stood
bring out the best and worst in people. The ones standing by you are rock solid behind me in this journey.
the only ones who matter, rest are namesake. I was indeed lucky to My friend was successful in teaching me a life lesson which I oth-
have had some unshakable support from very unexpected quarters. erwise may have never learnt. I wish this world to be a better place
Those small gestures of receiving calls, getting some sweet messages and I wish that each one of us can learn this lesson without having to
or even a simple video call helped make my journey a lot less painful. undergo the journey which I had to.
Then I developed Secondary Pulmonary sepsis and my lungs just Stay Safe and God bless us all.
couldn’t inflate on their own. For me that was the lowest point of this Dr. Bimal Mehta runs a private dental practice in Mumbai since
entire phase. Of course physiotherapy kicked in, I went through a lit- the past 26 years. He has served as the Past President of IDA,
tle lesson on “Pranayam” but I was still on active oxygen support Mumbai.

48 Dental Practice // May-June 2021 // Vol 17 No 5