Coronavirus completely took 2020 into its hands. Within a limited time, it destroyed our economy, locked people in their houses, and became a matter of concern for the entire world. Why not? After all, the deadly virus killed more than 1.4 million people globally and the counting is still going on. Recently, the news of vaccines and the decline in Corona cases in India has been doing rounds on the mainstream media. However, there is a place for fake news as well.
Not knowing what to trust, HatkeStory decided to dig further to find out the actual truth. One of our team members contacted Anesthesiologist Dr. Sandeep Singh Rathore who is currently working in Corona ICU. So to understand the matter, let’s have a conversation with him.
Aashna- Dr.Sandeep please introduce yourself to our readers.
Sandeep Singh Rathore – Myself Sandeep Singh Rathore. I’m an anesthesiologist and I work in Safdarjung Hospital Delhi. My work solely revolves around handling serious Coronavirus patients. In other words, I deal with emergencies and those patients who are admitted to ICU.
Aashna- Sir what is your personal opinion on Coronavirus? As a doctor, how do you see it?
Sandeep Singh Rathore – People are saying that Coronavirus is a novel virus but in my opinion, it isn’t true. It was always present between us but turned deadly in 2019. In 1960, Coronavirus was discovered in bats by vet doctors. Others are believing that it’s a man-made virus but nothing has been proved yet.
Coronavirus is an RNA virus and it keeps mutating, the more it mutates the more it turns deadly. Its symptoms start from Mileage (headache, body ache, and some other normal symptoms). Patients come to us when they experience breathlessness. At that moment, they are so deprived of oxygen that they’ll collapse if they don’t receive immediate attention. I have seen healthy patients dying right in front of my eyes due to breathlessness. This is what happens in the ICU but general ward patients are more stable compared to them.
Aashna- Can you categorise the symptoms of Coronavirus? What kind of patients need medical attention and how you treat them?
Sandeep Singh Rathore – We divide Corona patients into three categories and treat them according to them. First, minor or asymptomatic, they hardly need any treatment and we give them medicines to recover. We don’t admit them anymore.
Second, moderate patients who have visible symptoms like high fever, headache, loss of smell & taste, breathlessness and some others. We keep them in our general ward because we don’t know when moderate symptoms turn into severe. So they need medical attention.
The third, severe, the patient loses his breath and requires oxygen. We put them on ventilators. It mostly hits their lungs and heart. I have hardly seen patients recovering from this stage as Cytokines generate in their bodies. It’s kind of very unlikely to come back to life after this stage.
You also suffered from Coronavirus. How did you recover from it?
Sandeep Singh Rathore – I had mild symptoms and I was admitted for a week. I knew it before getting tested and Corona Virus was very different from the normal fever. I had never experienced something like this before. In the end, when I recovered, my lungs were damaged permanently though the damage was almost negligible still it was present in my HRCT. So it is a fact that you never recover from Corona Virus completely.
It may destroy our internal organs in near future.
I’m seeing patients dying due to post covid effects like myocarditis, lung fibrosis, coagulopathy. All of them result in sudden cardiac arrest, lung swelling and lung damage. Sometimes, I experience slight breathlessness and fatigue despite recovering from Coronavirus.
In the winter season, there will be more deaths as the spread is on the peak. If we test and calculate properly then 2 to 3 lakh cases per day and even more than that.
Aashna- How public has been reacting to it? What is happening inside hospitals?
Sandeep Singh Rathore – People refuse to believe us if we tell them that they are infected or this person died because of Corona. They accuse us of trapping them. Through this, you can understand what kind of mentality they have regarding the virus.
Aashna- Is it true Coronavirus may destroy our internal organs in the future?
Sandeep- Yes, I think so but as I told you before nothing can be said about it right now. Researches are going on we never know what comes out.
Aashna- Recently, media and graphs are showing that Corona is fading away from India? There is a notable decline in active cases. So is it true?
Sandeep Singh Rathore – No. That’s not the truth. They have limited the testing to those patients who show symptoms. Doctors don’t advise other doubted patients to get tested. If you have mild symptoms then there are chances that your doctor may tell you to not go for the test.
Initially, during or before lockdown, testing was better. The entire locality was tested after a single patient. Then they reduced it to the family. Now, it is only limited to patients with symptoms. So you can understand how the graph went down. Asymptomatic patients are not part of these 50k+ cases daily. But they are very much capable of spreading Coronavirus. So they have manipulated graphs but Coronavirus hasn’t gone anywhere. Neither there is a decrease in cases, in fact, we have started admitting more patients. Situations that are taking place in Delhi can happen in any other state. Chances are very high!
Aashna- People are saying that Coronavirus reports are fake. Doctors are misleading us for money. Is it correct?
Sandeep Singh Rathore – No. It’s happening in some places but not everywhere. Doctors aren’t misleading anyone for money, at least not all of them. We are risking our lives to save Corona patients. Many front line health workers have lost their lives. I don’t support this statement. It doesn’t hold any credibility.
Aashna- Is the Corona vaccine coming next year?
Sandeep Singh Rathore – First of all, Corona is an RNA Virus so it is very unlikely to develop an effective vaccine. But all the countries in the world are trying to produce Corona vaccine. Being a doctor, I think it’s too early to reach the conclusion as the virus is evolving with various disease patterns and symptoms.
Still, among all the on-trial vaccines Germany’s Pfizer is on the top and it is believed to be the most trustworthy one. India exports vaccines on the global level so we will be producing it once it is approved. But it will take time to vaccinate everyone. We can expect relief from Corona in 2022. I doubt anything will happen before that.
Aashna- Is Coronavirus wave 2 coming?
Sandeep Singh Rathore – Yes, I think so. Countries like the UK, Italy, France, Iran who almost controlled it are showing signs of wave 2. They are receiving a high number of cases daily. However, in India, the scenario is different as we haven’t peaked yet. Also, manipulating graphs and testing took us nowhere.
Aashna- What is going wrong in India?
Sandeep Singh Rathore – Indians have stopped taking Coronavirus seriously. But not maintaining social distancing, not wearing a mask or hanging it below the nose will lead us to disaster. We need to take enough precautions to curb the spread. Still, people are in no mood to listen. They have made it a big joke and it’s going to cause us a lot.
Aashna- Alright, it was nice having a conversation with you. Do give our readers your message.
Sandeep Singh Rathore – I urge everyone to believe in the country’s healthcare system. Please maintain social distancing, wear a mask, take all the necessary precautions. You are not only saving yourself but our country too. In the end, whosoever is on the safe side will be the real Corona Warrior in my eyes. So please be a responsible citizen and take care of yourself.
Hatkestory team requests from all of you to take the matter seriously.
Corona is not going anywhere soon. Keep fighting against it.
Maintain social distancing, wear a mask, save yourself and our country too.
Like us on FB, if you find our content interesting: https://www.facebook.com/hatkestoryofficial/
Do you have an interesting incident or experience to share with the world? Write to us, and together we can discuss how to weave your story and present it to the world. Would you mind sending us your story?