“My dad has been in hospital for more than 60 days now after being tested positive for COVID-19," Abhi Nair said.
"Although he is tested negative to coronavirus after two months, doctors say his road to recovery is long,” he told SBS Malayalam.
Viswanathan Nair and his wife Lalitha arrived in Australia to spend six months with their children before they were due to return in June. However, their destiny was different. The potentially dangerous virus that is rampant around the globe overturned their plans ending up with Viswanathan in hospital.
Melbourne based Abhi Nair, his wife, and his visiting parents were diagnosed with the COVID-19 in June. His 73-year-old father was admitted to Footscray Hospital. After being on a ventilator for days he was shifted to ICU.
“There was a point even when the doctors were unsure of his survival. He was on a ventilator for 10-15 days and then in ICU for around 30 days. It was a very stressful situation,” Abhi said.
Source: Abhi Nair
Abhi contracted the virus first. Then it was passed on to his elderly parents and his wife. However, his nine-year-old daughter tested negative even after her fourth corona test.
According to Abhi, despite having any underlying health condition, Viswanathan Nair was severely affected.
“He had a fever on and off but didn’t have any breathing trouble. But when we noticed that he was not getting rid of the fever that we called the ambulance to drive him to the hospital.”
"It was hard to see him leaving home. As we always see in the news that the elderly are vulnerable, I had a feeling whether I would see him again." Since then Viswanathan Nair was under hospital care.
Surprisingly, it took two months to get a negative result
“Dad was tested positive with COVID-19 for two long months before he was tested negative recently. From ICU he was moved to the COVID ward. But now that he has been free from the deadly virus, Dad has been shifted to another hospital ward,” Abhi said.
Although his father has survived the coronavirus, Abhi said that he has been diagnosed with lung damage as a result of the virus.
Source: Abhi Nair
“Due to the damage caused to the lungs, he is being fed with liquid food. He still can't talk properly. So it is very unclear when he can be discharged from the hospital."
Left with no insurance
Before boarding the flight to Australia from Gujarat, the parents took health insurance. However, the insurance expired in August.
“Dad and Mum took out health insurance from India. But the problem is that since he is above 70 years of age, they provide only limited insurance. Initially, it was till the end of June and later it was extended only for three months.
The insurance expired in August and at present, he doesn’t have insurance. This is the stress we are going through at the moment. Even if he is free from corona related health issues, it is risky as they won’t be able to travel back soon. The insurance company has told us that they can’t extend it since we already claimed it and that Dad is offshore.
Source: Abhi Nair
Abhi’s Mum, Lalitha, also contracted the virus. However, although she has underlying health conditions, she recovered quickly.
“I only had a cough and tiredness with no fever," Lalitha said.
"So I was fine. But it was hard when my husband got it. It’s been two months that we couldn’t meet each other. Through video conferencing, we could see him lying on the hospital bed. It was heartbreaking to see him. Even though he could hear us he was unable to talk back. It was a very sad situation.”
“Now the tension has reduced a bit but I can only be relieved when he joins us home. We wish to go back to India but at the moment we are unsure about when we can return. My son who is in India was also worried about the situation. He could also join the video conferencing to see his dad’s pathetic condition,” she said.
Nine-year-old in the family tests negative to coronavirus
As the whole family faced dealing with the virus, there was this little girl who spread a positive vibe among the elders. Abhi’s daughter Aashi who tested negative four times says positive energy is required to overcome the pandemic.
“I was very sad when the family was affected," Aashi said.
"But I know that we need to stay positive because if we go negative it is not going to help. That’s what we have to do. It was a bit sad and worrying to see my grandfather in the hospital.
But I know that he was getting the best care and that the hospital is the safest place, a lot safer than home and so he needs to be there.
“Sometimes I feel down. But my parents support me, and we support each other and keep that positive mindset. I am waiting for my grandfather to come back home. Fingers crossed that he will come back home quickly, safely, and happy,” the nine-year-old added.
Source: Abhi Nair
"A long way to go"
Viswanathan, still at Footscray Hospital is now undergoing physiotherapy. According to the hospital, it's a long way to go for this granddad to fully recover from the impact caused by the virus.
SBS Malayalam spoke to Nina Leggett, the physiotherapist who has been taking Viswanathan Nair through his recovery.
"He was quite unwell needing a ventilator for his lung support early on," she said.
"So we were involved in that stage helping with positioning, optimise his lung recovery. We also helped him with weaning off the ventilator getting back to breathing on his own. Since that time he has progressed and he has moved out of intensive care and is now on the ward.
"He is now breathing on his own. He still needing supplementary oxygen to breathe. His breathing gets very short, very easily. From a functional perspective, he is able to stand and get himself out of the bed with the support.
"He has started taking steps but only can take a few steps at a time before he needs to have a rest. In terms of his eating and drinking, he is slowly recovering there but he does have quite a lot of, a long way to go in terms of recovering back to full strength.
"Its been a very difficult time for his family. It's hard to put an exact time frame on his recovery. But he is ready to go to the rehab ward which is a really great step," adds Nina.
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