Covid-19 Survivor stories: Dr Rohit Mehta shares his journey of struggle, hope and his takeaway from the experience

Niva Bupa customer Dr Rohit Gupta recollects his story of how he contracted the novel Coronavirus and subsequently overcame this period of great distress. For him it was the unpredictable nature of virus, along with his mental battle to stay positive during isolation period which was the main struggle. Now he has completely recovered and joined back the hospital to attend to his patients.

Here is what he has to say about his whole experience

“I am a doctor by profession, working in the Intensive Care Unit at a hospital in Delhi. In the lockdown, while I was on duty, I started noticing some mild symptoms of the Coronavirus. Being in the medical field and considering the severity of the pandemic situation then, I was very careful and cautious, and observed the symptoms closely.

The symptoms persisted and I had to self-quarantined myself until the medical test reports came. It was important for me to isolate myself from the rest of the family and prevent the spread of the virus.

Finally, the report came: I was COVID positive!

Stunned and slightly devastated; I broke the news to my family who could not believe it either. As a doctor, I could only treat, comfort and empathise with the COVID patients undergoing treatment; completely isolated from their loved ones. But now, I could actually feel the uncertainty of the situation.

I was hospitalized and continued to experienced body-ache during the admission. It was a stressful situation then where I felt anxious and stressed about everything!

However, fortunately, after 15 days of treatment, and taking proper care and precautions; I was tested COVID negative.

Looking back to the days, I feel that the unpredictability of the Coronavirus situation, the uncertainty surrounding the disease, and the isolation period at the hospital was the main contributor to stress and anxiety than the virus itself. And then I realized that it is only the mental strength, persistence and will power which can make you push through each day.

I am fully recovered now and have started focusing on building mental and physical fitness.

My take-away from the whole experience was that one should work on their immunity, take all the precautions to prevent the spread of the virus; and most importantly get a Health Insurance. After all, your health is above everything in life. Fortunately, I had a health plan from Niva Bupa that covered my hospitalization treatment and expenses. Their service and operations were seamless, and I faced no problem at all.”