Covid19 vaccine saved a family from hospitalization

 Health care workers, doctors, state government as well as central government has overtime reiterated the importance of completion of covid 19 vaccination schedule but people have ignored it. They think about getting vaccinated only during peak of covid 19 infection, once the infection rate reduces, people forget about vaccination till another wave comes.

Today I would like to share firsthand information about being infected with covid after completion of covid 19 vaccination schedule.

My friend Raj, has been very protective about himself and his surrounding ever since, covid 19 pandemic hit us. Reason he as a daughter and an aged mother at home and he didn’t want to take any chance with them. Despite all his precautions, his family got infected by covid last week.

When he told me about his coughing problem, I thought it would be common cold (as he drinks only lukewarm water) but he was sure it was covid. Immediately he got himself and his family members tested for RT PCR and the result was positive for all his family members, barring his daughter.

By the time his results came, his sense of smell had vanished too. Immediately the medical team reached out to him over call and enquired about his and his family members health conditions. All his family members were doing fine, including his mom, as they were completely vaccinated against covid 19.

So, doctors prescribed them medicines which should be used only in case of emergencies and they were asked to home quarantine themselves for the next 15 days. I was little worried for Raj, wondering if any of his family members may need hospitalization. So, I used to connect with him everyday in evening to access the situation at his home. He was fine from day1 of the infection, except for sore throat and smell issues, his taste buds had no issues and his appetite had increased a bit.

Its hardly 5 days and he has recovered his ability to smell things completely and has been doing great. He only took a day’s leave from work, despite working from home. He took that leave because of coughing else he wouldn’t have taken that leave also.  

During one of his conversations with his doctor, Raj asked the doctor, how come he and his family recovered so soon without much complication and hospitalization, doctor said “that’s the power of covid 19 vaccine”. Has he not completed his and his family members vaccination on time, situation would have been different from current scenario. Raj never got fever all throughout his infection and recovery period, credit for it goes to his vaccination.

I feel Raj’s story is an eye opener for all those people, who think vaccination doesn’t help, as one can still be infected with the virus. Its true, one can be infected but the morality rate, hospitalization and dependence of oxygen can be reduced drastically and people can be treated at home under the supervision of doctors.

Through this blog I would like to urge all readers to complete the vaccination at the earliest and also encourage others also to do the same. Let’s work towards a covid free world.

 

My gratitude to delivery guys

The advent of ecommerce companies has given rise to number of delivery guys who deliver our goods to us in the comforts of our home. All we need to do is to place the order and sit back; rest will be taken care by the e commerce company for us. When the package is out for delivery, we are notified about it either through a SMS or through a notification on the app. Final stage is being delivery guys calling us to locate and to deliver the order and head for the next delivery.

All these years, I really didn’t feel the plight of delivery guys until I came across the challenges faced by them in dire situations. That one incident changed my perception towards then and increased my respect for them from the bottom of my heart.

Due to pandemic I decided to shift temporarily to Kerala to spend some time with parents as the past one year has been too toiling for all of us, as we were all worried about each other than ourselves. Here too like in Bangalore, I prefer to order things through Flipkart, Amazon, Zomato or e commerce firms which provide home delivery at my location.

This year Kerala has received more rainfall than it required and its repercussion can be seen in news channels with alarming levels of water in all major dams of the state. Even when I am writing this blog, it is raining heavily outside. Due to these incessant rains, I have limited my outdoor activity to bare minimal, similar to lockdown era, only difference is that was forced and this is voluntary.

I ordered few things through multiple e commerce platforms based and was tracking their movement especially when are they out for delivery. It so happened one day, a delivery agent called me inform about the delivery of goods and I was waiting eagerly for its arrival but it started pouring heavily that day. Again, that delivery agent called me to inform that delivery will be delayed a bit as it is raining heavily. I replied take your time, I am in no hurry.

It was still drizzling when I heard someone honking at the gate of my house; I stepped out only to see a delivery agent with my parcel in his hand. He was wearing rain coat with a heavy bag on his back, bracing the rain with a smile on his place when he delivered the package. I happen to look at his feet, he was wearing a chappal but due to constant exposure to water his feet has turned little pale and same was the case with his hands. I was completely saddened by his plight; I knew he would be feeling cold. I have experienced it personally once.

It so happened that I was on bike and suddenly it started pouring and there was no place where I could take refuge from rain for some time, hence I drove the bike and was completely drenched in water. Then I found a bus stop, parked my bike there and waited there till the rain stopped. Once the rain stopped and I reached it was more than an hour, all this while I was in wet clothes. First thing I did after reaching home was to get rid of those clothes and then to have coffee. I couldn’t bear an hour of chillness and these guys they are endure this chillness all day long. Hats off to their sacrifice and risk undertaken by them for earning bread and butter for their family.

Today too, I had a delivery and when the delivery agent called to enquire about the address, I requested him to deliver it tomorrow as roads were flooded and heavy rain was anticipated for the rest of the day. I think they too are human beings and I must think about them also. My package can wait for a day or two but they can’t endanger their life in this extreme climatic situation just for a delivery. I don’t think I can ever allow that.

Every time a package is delivered to me, I make it a point to rate the delivery guys, though it’s a small gesture but goes a long way in judging their performance. I think that the least I can do for them. So next time, please be little cautious before losing your temper at a delivery agent, don’t forget the fact that at times they endanger their life’s for our happiness.

My mom’s first smart phone

 

Younger generation can’t think of a day, without their smart phone as it has become an integral part of their life. But the same is not the case with older generation especially our parents and grandparents. Since operation of smart phone need little bit of learning, parents are always reluctant to use it for themselves.

My mom was also no different from all other people in her age group, she thought handling smart phone is a herculean task and it is not her cup of coffee. Whenever I would bring the topic of purchasing a smart phone, she will say “I am happy with my keypad phone”.  But she also wanted to own smart phone,  so that she can watch her serials on it.

This time when I was at home, fortunately her phone went for a toss and she needed a new phone now. I somehow convinced her to buy a new smart phone with little reluctance she agreed to buy it. Since I know her well, I proposed, she take my phone and I will buy a new phone for myself. Reason if she is not comfortable with the usage of a commodity, she will either give it someone or won’t use it at all.  I didn’t want latter to happen but my mom insisted on buying a new phone for herself.

Next thing, I booked a phone for her through Amazon along with the cover and tamperproof glass. When the phone arrived, she was happy but its usage troubled her but with my presence around, she was little chilled. I installed all the necessary apps in her phone and made it usable for her use. I even transferred all her contacts from her previous phone to the new one.

That afternoon, I sat with her and taught her how to make and receive calls along with reading sms’s. I made her repeat each activity multiple times in my presence, so that she was through with it. Initially she was little furious and wanted to switch to her old phone or buy a similar phone. So, I lied to her that, one you put a sim in smart phone we can’t use in normal phones you need to get a new sim for it. She believed me and things turned in my favor again.

For a week every day, I used to sit with her and train her on the usage of smart phone. In a week’s time she was able to receive call and make calls by herself, even delete messages too. Then I introduced her to WhatsApp, the most happening app on her phone. Over period of time, she learned to read message on WhatsApp and view video files.  Till now she hasn’t learned to forward or send messages in WhatsApp because she doesn’t want to learn it and I can’t push her much.

One place where my efforts were minimal in terms of training her on smart phone usage was, to watch her favorite serials in Hotstar. I taught the entire process to her only twice and she grabbed it instantly. Next day onwards she was on hotstar watching her shows with no support from my end. It made wonder, how she learned it so soon, whereas for other things I was struggling with her.

The same happened, when I introduced her to YouTube and she learned it at a faster pace. She even asked me question about how to search for videos and I showed her the process but she was not interested to learn about it much. Due to artificial intelligence, YouTube suggested her videos based on her previous searches.

Now she plays bhajans both in morning and evening in YouTube and watches culinary videos. Early morning bhajans used to hamper my beauty sleeps so sometimes I used to turn off her phone net. Since she didn’t know about it, I told her network issue and she bought my statement. Her ignorance was a bliss for me in this case.

Within a month’s time she was comfortable with the phone and had mastered things which mattered to her the most, especially hotstar and YouTube. Since I was around, she would reach out to me when she goofed up things.

Now when I ask her “do you want to switch to your keypad phone”? and she jokingly says YES, then I ask her, how will you watch your serials then? Then she doesn’t say anything and brushes off the question with a smile. I strongly feel the main reason for our parents to use to smart phone is to watch serials. Because one of my cousin’s mom told her son, she just wants a smart phone now when her old phone got damaged. When I asked the purpose of smart phone to her, she told me “I want to watch serials without anyone’s disturbance and at my pace”. Finally, her son bought her a smart phone and now she is also a pro in watching serials on phone.

I had two selfish motives for getting a smart phone for my mom, firstly I wanted my phone to be with me, as she wanted to see her serials on my phone. Secondly, I wanted to do video calls with her anytime when I want. Because in the absence of smart phone, we both had to rely on others for video calls and it irritated me.

So, all you guys who are reading this, please get a smart phone to your parents and also train them in its usage with utmost care and patience. Their reluctance to the usage of smart phone is not because they don’t like it but because they aren’t confident about its usage by themselves. With us kids around I don’t think this should be a herculean task for our parents.

My first train trip during pandemic

 

Ever since the pandemic began in March 2020, I have usually confined myself to my house with restrictive travel, that too in personal vehicle or with my friends. No cabs, buses, train or flights was my mantra as I was and am scared of Corona, especially looking at the plight of people infected with the disease.

 When I decided to travel home to meet my parents after a year in 2021, I preferred to travel by car than train. (Had it not been the pandemic situation, I always prefer train journey for short distance). In the first quarter of 2021 I was not even vaccinated so had to extremely cautious about my travel.

I had to travel to Bangalore, just for a week for some work, since the duration was short, I ditched car for train, had it been a long stay, I would have preferred car. I was little confident now because I was partially vaccinated then and I was well aware about the SOPs adhered by Indian Railways.

Courtesy pandemic, now other than train tickets, one also need RT PCR negative report. Equipped with all these things, I entered the railway only to be informed that now only passengers can enter the platform and relatives will stay back at the entrance of station. This time luggage was less so no issue, I managed it by myself.

I booked myself in second AC expecting less people in the coach but it wasn’t the case, may be because of the day I travelled. First thing I did after reaching my birth was to sanitized the entire birth with wet tissue and sanitizer, for my own happiness, even though the coach was pretty neat and tidy. Till the next 5 stations, I was almost alone in the coach, it gave me a royal feeling. Never in my life till date, had I have travelled in a relatively empty coach, so it was relatively new experience for me.

Travelling in 2^nd AC is no fun these days, as we don’t get blankets and bedsheet from Indian Railways so we have to carry them ourselves. Due to this, luggage is increased a bit otherwise, it was like stepping into a hotel and moving out after using hotel amenities.

Over period of time, few passengers entered the train some became my co passengers it the journey ahead. There were few things which were common among us, firstly all of us used to sanitize our hand at regular interval and secondly our topic of discussion was whether we have covid negative certificate with us or not. As Karnataka government had made it mandatory only a day ago. Even the ticker collector also enquired about it while checking our tickets.

Conversations between passengers were very restrictive as it was difficult for people to speak much with the masks on, so people preferred to remain silent. I was glued to my phone, talking to friends, listening to music with my headset on, as I didn’t want to bother others.

One of the best thing, I have noticed while travelling by train all these years is, people wait for someone to open his/her dinner pack for others to follow. Earlier I used to wait for someone to open their food packets but not anymore. The moment I feel hungry, immediately wash my hands and have my dinner, don’t care much about the people around me then.

By 8 pm I opened my food pack and all people from my cabin as well from other cabin rushed to the wash basin to wash their hand and then the aroma of food dominated the coach for some time. Some people slept immediately after their dinner but I waited for an hour before sleeping.

I was carrying 4 N95 masks and 2 cloth masks for night. I changed the mask after 6 hours and for night while sleeping switched to cloth mask. It was too irritating to sleep with the mask on but when I turned around, saw people sleeping comfortability with N95 masks on. I had to no other option but to sleep with the mask. I hardly slept for 2-3 hours that night, as I was finding it difficult to sleep with mask.

I was awake from 4 am onwards but didn’t get up from my birth, rather laid back on seat as everyone was sleeping. By 5.30am few people started waking up and turned on the lights of the coach, I think they were about to get down at the next station. By 6 am all passengers in my cabin also got up and started packing their blankets.

I too climbed down and packed my blanket and took over my jacket as it was little cold. At night AC’s temperate was moderate so we didn’t feel much cold.

By 7 am I was at Bangalore and no sooner did the train stopped at platform, porters came inside the coach looking for people seeking assistance. Once porters left, I too stepped down of the train to get the feel of Bangalore’s air.

I was really scared to travel by train but after this trip, I can clearly say if we take all precaution set by the government, then we can keep the virus at bay and travel safely.

 

Finally, got the first shot of Covid vaccine

Getting vaccinated against Covid 19 has become a thing of utmost priority for everyone, as that’s the only way we can protect ourselves. I was waiting eagerly for the vaccination to begin for 18+ groups and the moment it happened, logged in to Cowin website to book my slot. But finding a slot for vaccination in this category was no less than winning a lottery ticket, as slot weren’t easily available. I even joined a telegram group to get information about vaccination and my phone used to keep buzzing throughout the day with notification alerts.  At one point I was so frustrated that I gave up on vaccination.

Then one day, randomly while checking the website, I found a slot for first dose, my happiness knew no bound, when I was able to book a slot for myself. I received an SMS on my phone about my vaccination schedule and I used to keep checking it whether, it was for real or not?

On the day for vaccination, I decided to go alone and got ready but my dad said he would accompany me. I told him, I will manage by myself but he was adamant, so we went together to the vaccination center. There was little crowd there but the parking area was relatively free, so I was bit relaxed. My center was at a government school so I had ample place for everything.

After initial verification I was given a token number and directed to one of the class room, it was huge. That classroom took me back to school days when we used to sit in benches and look at blackboards. Fortunately people who had gathered for vaccination there, were sensible enough to maintain physical distancing unlike at other places.

After waiting for almost an hour, my token number was called and I went another building, where once again my details were verified. They even asked few question about allergies and did I get covid in the past 30 days? Since my response was No, I was directed to the vaccination room. There two staff were vaccinating two person at a given time. My number also came and I took my seat and I was inoculated with first dose.

Immediately after inoculation, I was directed to observation room for the next 30 minutes. I took a corner side in that room, as it relatively empty. For the next 30 minutes, I was glued to phone, reading articles and chatting with friends. After 30 minutes, the staff in the room called my name and told me to go, I thanked her and left the room.

The moment I stepped out of that building, saw dad waiting for me near the exit point. While walking towards the parking space, I felt little discomfort but the moment got into car, everything vanished into thin air.

I had already kept my clothes in bathroom and towel outside, so that I can enter the house in towel and leave my clothes in water to be washed later. After shower, I was all fine and put the clothes in washing machine. I visited cowin website and downloaded my certificate, a must in some cases.

After lunch, had the medicine which was given to me at the vaccination center. I drank lot of water that day to keep myself hydrated, a suggestion give to me by my cousin. Later in the evening, I could feel little pain in the arm where I was injected. I retired to bed little early that day but next day, when I got up, I could feel my head was heavy and was not feeling great. I was aware about it, as I had already spoken to my cousins who got inoculated before me.

By afternoon, I felt little feverish so I had the next dose of the medicine and slept in afternoon, rare gesture by me, unless I am too tired. After getting up in evening, I was still little drowsy and by 8 pm, I developed severe body ache, especially lower back. I get such aches only during fever but that night I was not feverish but the pain was dominant.

After struggling with pain for two hours, I slept off. Day two was little better but not completely fine for me but better when compared to day one. Pain on the arm was there, so I ensured no one touches that part of my body. Still mom touched that particular point accidently and I was forced to endure the pain.

Other than heaviness of head and pain in arm, day two was fine for me and I was also able to sleep at night without any body aches. On day three, I was all fine.

I was fortunate to get vaccination but there are still many people in my vicinity from the same age bracket, yet to be vaccinated. I helped one or two people with the registration process but booking slot is not in my hand as one has be hyper active about it. I wish soon a large of chuck of population is partially vaccinated at least because something is better than nothing.

I would like to
thank all staffs who are part of this mass vaccination drive, it’s not easy but these people are working tirelessly for a covid free India.

Journey from a colleague to BFF during lockdown

 

I don’t think the lockdown of 2020, would be something that people will easily forget. It was the first time, when people were forced to stay home and spend more time indoors than outdoors. This gave many people an opportunity to re-connect with their family members and friends. I too connected with couple of my school friends during last year’s lockdown. My takeaway against all the hardships I faced during the lockdown was, I found a BFF.

I had known Ms A (let’s keep it that way), for couple years as we were colleagues at work place. During that time our interaction was limited as, we were in different teams and we had a lot on our table to finish for the day too. I left the organization an year after Ms A joined but we were in touch through messages and WhatsApp occasionally.

But during last year’s lockdown, Ms A, called me one evening. After enquiring about my well-being, she told something to me, which she wanted to tell me for a long time but something, stopped her from conveying it to me. Her revelation shocked me a bit as I was already aware about few things. But what surprised me was that, she really cared for me and I didn’t know about it. We both realized that, we wasted few years in opening up with each other, for the fears best known to each other. My suggestion to all my readers is, please talk openly about things with people who matter to you, otherwise you may also loose time like me and my BFF.

I must say that evening was all about surprises for me, I asked Ms A, what made her call me? She said, “’my husband told me talk to my friends, I will feel better’. The only person whom, she could think about at that moment was me, let me tell you, till the moment she called me, we just colleagues, not friends.

We spoke for close to two hours that evening, as we had a lot to discuss, which we missed during the years. Once we disconnected the call, I was wondering, WHY WE DIDN’T CONNECT BEFORE? But I made a promise to myself that, I will meet Ms A, once the situation normalizes.  When I was glued in those thoughts, I received a WhatsApp notification, it was from Ms A, where she stated, she had great time talking to me and will connect again when time permits. I replied her back with a smiley.

After that day, whenever time permitted, we would talk to each other, at least for an hour. Since Ms A is quite busy in her personal life and rarely find time to talk to me, I too made an exception for her. If I talking to someone and Ms A’s, call is in call waiting mode, I will pick Ms A’s call on priority. I think we can make such changes for people based on their situations at times.  

Last week Ms A called me, but this call jolted me completely as she made some shocking revelations. Though the call started on a jovial mode as usual but ended on a serious note. We all know pandemic has been hard on people especially for nuclear families. Value of family support was one of the best lessons taught through lockdown, when people were cut off the world for days together.

Ms A has decided to shift to her hometown from Bangalore, I remember she once discussed this idea with me but she was not quite sure about it. Before moving out of city, she wanted to meet all her friends in the city. But the stringent lockdown in Bangalore has poured water to all her plans as social get together’s are banned in the city, in wake of acute covid situation.

Even if the relaxations are eased, yet she can’t meet anyone, as she is leaving at city at the earliest. The moment I heard this news, I regretted not being able to meet her when situations were better in the city. Even if the situation improves, we will still not be able to meet each other because currently we are in two different cities. I am in Kerala and she is in Bangalore.

Ms A, told me that she might come back to Bangalore, when situation improves and then she will plan for a get together with all her Bangalore based friends, till then it’s a good bye from her. All this while I was hopeful of catching up with Ms A, sometime as she was in the city but now, I don’t know. That’s the reason, people say we should not take things for granted.

I just hope one day, we will meet in person and talk a lot, as we have many similar interest, one among them is we both are passionate about writing. Till then me and Ms A will be connected through phone calls only.  Even now, I am yet come to terms to the fact that Ms A, is leaving the city, I think that’s the bond between BFFs.  If, I can be grateful for the one thing about lockdown then it has to be, Ms A. But I so wish, I could meet her once before she left the city, an expectation far from reality.

Second dose of Covid vaccine to mom

 Getting my mom inoculated with the first dose of Covid 19 vaccine, was seamless when compared with the administration of second dose. For the first dose, I just booked her schedule through cowin website and took her to the concerned hospital, got her injected and we were back home but it wasn’t the case with her second dose.

As my mom’s second vaccination’s dose date was approaching, I tried to book a schedule for her through Cowin website but I was not able to find the schedule for her. This rang an alarm bell and I knew getting the second dose will not a cake walk. So I tried looking out for slot every now and then but the outcome remained the same.

Finally one day, I got a schedule and we were too happy about it. This hospital was little far from our place, still we decided to go ahead. When we reached the hospital after so many struggles, we were informed that vaccine is out of stock. I was like, what’s next because both mom and me, were clueless now.

We were back home disappointed and I was trying to figure out ways to get my mom vaccinated. I was even filled with guilt too, as I was the one who persuaded her to get vaccinated. I was scared about any adverse effect of vaccine, if administered beyond the stipulated time. Mom too was little worried and anxious and kept checking with me about the status of her next schedule.

Then one day we read in paper that for second dose, we have to get in touch with our ASHA worker, as online booking has been barred now. Mom immediately called her and she too informed mom that vaccine is out of stock now but she will inform us when vaccine is available.

One day while checking vaccine schedule for my mom, I saw the hospital near our home has been fully booked for vaccination. Immediately I called the ASHA worker and informed her about it, she told stock has just arrived and she will book my mom for the next available slot. After a day, I called the ASHA worker again and she informed that she has scheduled my mom’s vaccination appointment. I was little relaxed but was not too amused by this news. I wanted to enjoy, only after getting my mom inoculated with the vaccine, any celebrations before that was meaningless.

The date allotted for my mom’s vaccination was during the stringent lockdown announced in the state of Kerala. Though the government circular, made it clear the people going for vaccination will be not stopped, still ground reality couldn’t be judged sitting at home. That was another worry for me, second dosage was in the midst of so many worries, unlike the first shot, which was pretty cool.

A day before vaccination one of our neighbor uncle came to me and said he along with his wife would like to accompany us for vaccination. As they too got the same date and the center was also the same, they were also due for their second dose.

 

On vaccination day, we all left in my car for the vaccination center with all relevant documents to substantiate our claim for vaccination. This time my mom didn’t receive an sms confirming her vaccination schedule, so I was bit wary whether cops will allow us to go to the center.

As expected, cops stopped us and uncle told them, we are going for vaccination and they allowed us to travel, first hurdle of the path was cleared. Vaccination center was crowded, I didn’t expect so many people there, especially during lockdown.

My mom, uncle and aunty went inside the center and asked me to stay in the car only. Fortunately I got a shaded place to park the car and waited there till for almost three hours till my mom, uncle and aunty returned back, after being inoculated. My feeling at that time was, I have won a big war against all odds.  Getting the second shot of vaccine for my mom was, no less than a war for me and my mom.

Before making their way to the car, I sanitized their hands and checked their phones for the sms notification, intimating about the second dose. It was important for us, to show to the cops on road, who might ask for proof of vaccination.

Our way back home was pretty smooth, though cops stopped us but they didn’t ask much and allowed us to go. Back home after shower, I downloaded the final vaccination certificate for my mom on her phone and asked her to keep it handy.