Tragedies of personal as well as of general nature do happen in our daily lives. Covid-19, however, has been an altogether devastating experience for the entire human race. There is hardly anyone who has not been bitten by it. One way or the other people have lost their loved ones. It has hit all people and nations alike without any discrimination or. People world over have died in millions including doctors and other paramedics.
No one can tell or know when it may come to an end, or at least when will it be brought under control. As the experts on the subject keep warning us that the worst is yet to come, one wave is to be followed by another and so on.
Initially it had affected old and sick, then it caught hold of young and healthy, and now they reckon it is the turn of children.
Businesses have suffered, people have lost their jobs and children have not been to schools for too long and they know little about the play fields now. They are stuck in their homes with no usual personal interaction with their teachers, classmates or friends.
More than fifty people around me whom I have known personally over past so many decades have died because of this deadly disease including my own cousin, brother in law and above all my best friend Khursheed Ahmed Deen. It all happened so suddenly that we still find it hard to believe that he is no longer there for us as he always used to be. A regular companion and with whom I used to share all good events and worries of my life. Without him now our lives will not be the same again and so is true about everyone else who like me helplessly watched their loved ones going away.
It is quite unfortunate to say that he was simply mismanaged at GMC Hospital, Anantnag where he was taken in the first instance. As his medical file was misplaced and interchanged with a patient of similar name, admitted in the same ward. It could not be traced for days together and that is what actually proved fatal for him as it was too late in the day for him to start the right treatment. His oxygen saturation was dropping. We were told his X-ray is OK, but he is diabetic so no life saving steroids could be given to him. When as a matter of fact it was not true as his X-ray was not good and he was not diabetic at all. Though we eventually managed to shift him to SKIMS, Soura but the experience over there was even worse. No specialist doctors in sight or available at either of the two places. But the patients as a matter of routine are at the mercy of junior trainee doctors with little know how to deal with such catastrophic medical emergencies.
The patients and their attendants are virtually left to fend for themselves. While our stay of nearly two week there, we have hardly seen anyone coming out alive from the GMC Hospital, Anantnag or so-called designated Covid Clinic of the SKIMS, Soura.
Vaccination of more than seven and a half billion people round the world is going to take quite some time and in the meanwhile people have to bear with their huge personal and economic losses because of one after the other wave, and unavoidable lockdowns in consequence thereof.
The better thing for now is therefore is to get vaccinated as soon possible and follow the requisite SOPs and guidelines strictly.