Hemanth Singh told the Recorder that he wanted to reveal the
first-hand experiences of his family and said that he hoped people would “see
sense” and stay at home during the lockdown.
The Suttons Primary School pupil speaks
with extraordinary maturity and describes his mum Komal’s condition worsening
to the point that she had to be moved to intensive care at queen’s hospital.
Now we’ll leave it to Hemanth, who lives with his mum, dad
Sattesh and sister Vashika, 12, to tell his incredible story.
As
you already know, the coronavirus is one of the worst pandemics we will
experience in our lifetimes. It caught us all off guard and now we all are
struggling to fight back. A word has not been created that can describe the
utter chaos we are amid.
I
am one of the many that can describe what plight a patient must endure. This
article will explain to you how exactly the past few weeks have been for me and
my family. I am certain that my story will mirror others. I present to you, the
story of my family.
Like
many other children, I was at first flippant about the coronavirus and did not
care that much about it. I washed my hands, but I did not have the careful
attitude I should have had.
After
the schools were closed, my life started altering. My mother had suddenly
caught fever and a minor cough. At first, we thought it was just a seasonal
cold, but a minor fever and cough turned into a mild fever and constant cough.
She began self-isolation at the first sign of symptoms on March 23.
Her
health started to seriously deteriorate on the following Monday. Breathing
became a problem for her and things only got worse after that.
Later
that week, we felt there was a need to call emergency services since she was
compelled to constantly drink hot water to help her breathe and she refused to
eat anything.
My
father called 999 and requested for medical help and he was told that an
ambulance was on its way, but it might take time.
After
waiting for hours, we received a call saying that an ambulance could not attend
to my mother and since she was conscious, there was no need for hospital
treatment and advised to continue her self-isolation and try to recover at
home.
The
next few days were hellish for all the members of my family. My mum had blood coming out of her throat and
nose.
The nine days that she was at home provided her no sleep and my
dad lost days of sleep too. He needed to provide my mother all the support
whilst maintaining social distancing and taking care of us as well. My dad also
has a pre-existing medical condition, so he needed to safeguard himself too.
On
the night of March 31, her health suddenly took a turn for the worse.
The
next few hours were the worst we had seen. Dad realised that my mother was not
coughing. She wasn’t making a single sound. Me and my sister stood outside her
door and called to her.
After
minutes of calling, we figured that she was unconscious. My dad called
emergency services. After hours of calling, an ambulance arrived at 3am and I
was thanking God for it was like he had sent his angels to help to save mum.
Later
that day we received a call from the hospital. We were told that my mum had
shown all symptoms of Covid-19 and she also has double pneumonia. She had been
put in intensive care and was critical and needing a lot of oxygen.
The frontline
team at Queen’s Hospital was truly amazing. The doctors and nurses have done their best to save
my mum.
Me
and my sister tried our hardest to keep calm through the tough times and we
knew that this was the time to stand together as a family.
Our
neighbourhood had showered us with their love and care. Every day, they sent
messages, conveying their love and support.
They
helped us in every way possible, including offering food and bringing basic
groceries. Without their help, I do not know how we would have gotten through
all of this.
I
cannot express the fear I had within me during all this time.
Finally
after six days, she was able to breathe by herself and was discharged. I did
not know then if that was good or bad because I felt as if she should have
stayed in hospital until she fully recovered and be out of Covid-19.
After
being discharged and sent home in an ambulance with advice to self-quarantine
for another 14 days, finally Mum was home but once again isolated.
She
slowly and steadily improved. She was very weak, but we knew she was
overpowering Covid-19. This thought alone gave me immense satisfaction, something
that I had been deprived of for many days.
I
am cannot convey how lucky she was to recover. I am aware of the situation
around the world and how not all were as lucky as my family.
But
it is impossible for me to imagine the situation of those that are less
privileged.
I
then realised how fortunate we were that we could manage and facilitate mum in
a room which had an en-suite bathroom.
If
we all had to share one room or one bathroom, I am certain that the entire
family would be infected.
Her
instinct of self-isolation and sacrifice was great. This journey was certainly
mentally stressful, but we will fight as a family.
After
all that has happened, I hope that now people will see sense and follow
Government guidelines and stop leaving the house for unnecessary activities.
If
we want to end this lockdown, then stay home and let us have no new cases of
the virus. The sooner, the better for lockdown to go away.
I
am very thankful to what the NHS has done to help my mother. I am thankful to
everyone on the frontline for their sacrifices to keep the country running.
There
is a lot to learn from this. The NHS has always been a matter of politics, a
tool for politicians to impress the public.
Now,
more than ever, is the time to keep politics aside and work for humanity.
Improve
basic facilities at hospitals. We need to support each other because we are
fighting a foe that cannot be harmed by bullets but by bravery and support.
This virus will not see distinguish religion, caste, colour or nationality so
why should we?
I
hope that someone will read this and will try with all their might to help
humanity beat this lethal adversary.
I
pray for all the Covid-19 patients fighting this virus and those people who are
awaiting the return of their beloved.
However,
I feel very sorry for those who have lost their loved ones and may their soul
rest in peace.
The full article by the Recorder can be found at: https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/hornchurch-boy-writes-account-of-mum-coronavirus-battle-1-6641119