Abhishek Kumaarr opens up on his battle with Covid

There are some situations in life which change the way we think and alter our beliefs permanently and actor Abhishek Kumaarr went through something similar some time back.

This was when the pandemic had begun and both he and his family contracted Covid. What followed were a series of mystique events that strengthened his faith in God.

“I was shooting for an advertisement and at that time Covid tests were done regularly. After I got home, at 3:00 am, I got a call and the guy said, ‘Sir don't come for the shoot tomorrow as you're Covid positive.’ I stay alone here in Mumbai and I didn't tell anyone in my family that I'm Covid positive as my family would be worried,” he says.

Little did he know that his family, too, would be suffering from Covid soon. “Fortunately, my health was not that bad, and when I finally tested negative, I thought of going home and working on my immunity. I went home and I took a shower and we sat to have lunch. I saw my mom, dad and younger brother coughing and Covid was at its peak at that time. Apparently, they had been coughing since the morning before I came. It was a Saturday, I still remember. I asked them to do a Covid test after which on the same day in the evening we got the results and all three of them were Covid positive,” he says.

He adds, “At that moment when I got to know that all three of them are Covid positive, I was shocked. But then I realised that I had to be strong and confident and also keep my family motivated. I told them that there is nothing to worry about, and that I was also Covid positive. I asked them to isolate themselves in three different rooms and I consulted a doctor from Gurgaon. I started checking their oxygen levels and temperature every day and noted everything on paper. In the meantime, the doctor asked us to do a few tests. I also arranged for oxygen cylinders for emergencies.”

However, things turned from bad to worse. “On the 3rd day, in the morning, we did the tests and on the 4th day at night 11:00, I got everybody's reports. All three of them were sleeping, while I was going through the reports of my dad's D-dimer test. The value of the test should be between 0 to 6 but my dad's reports showed 3,300. As soon as I saw the value, I started crying. I asked the doctor and he said he was very serious and took him to the hospital. I went to my dad, he was sleeping. I woke him up and said we needed to go to the hospital. He said, ‘No, I'm fine’ but I told him he was not and we needed to go. But, at that time at night we couldn't get a bed in the hospital, so my dad told me that we will go to the hospital tomorrow morning. That night, I couldn't sleep as I was arranging for a bed in the hospital. My mom saw me crying but I convinced her there was nothing to worry about. The next day at 11:00 in the morning, I was talking with the doctor and he said these reports are wrong. By that time my mom's health became a concern as her oxygen level dropped from 93 to 88 because of tension.”

He adds, “The doctor asked to do an HR CT scan of my mom. Her infection was very moderate; her HF CT was 10. I learned from technicians how to supply oxygen and use it. It was very painful to see my mom like this. At that time getting an oxygen cylinder was also a task so I was using it very carefully. On the 6th day, the doctor asked us to take her to the hospital because she was not showing improvement in her health. I went to my mom and told her we need to go to the hospital to get an injection which we can't take at home. I lied because I couldn't tell her the main reason. And I saw my father, who is usually very strong, weak for the first time in my life.”

Arranging a bed was another task, but Abhishek remembers just powering ahead. “I got to know there is a bed in a hospital but just when I was going to reach, I met with an accident. I went to the hospital and the doctor said the medicines and treatment which you are giving that same thing will be done in the hospital also. He asked me to do an HR CT scan again to check if the value had dropped but this time the value was 20. I told my mom the value is 8 and we need to go to the hospital to take an injection for four days and then we can come back home. The hospital which had said that they will provide us with the bed was not picking up our calls and then with the help of one doctor, I took her to another hospital. I asked my mom there are two choices X and Y hospital, where do you want to go. She said let's go to Y as people recover and come back soon from there,” he says.

He adds, “As soon as we reached that hospital, they refused to take her. We requested a lot and finally, they took her to the ICU. I remember my mom saying, ‘Don't worry, I will be back soon'. I used to sit outside the hospital while taking care of my dad and brother. To ask about my mom's health I used to go and meet the doctor who was checking on her and every day he used to tell me, ‘Your mom is very strong but this is a very serious case and we can't promise anything'.”

Abhisek also got ready to donate plasma to his mother, but what followed was something absolutely incredible! “I got a call from my sister. She is staying in Australia and she said your blood group is the same i.e B+ you can give her plasma. I got myself tested and approved that I can give her plasma. I thought I would talk to the doctor about this since I had also just recovered from Covid. I remember at the doctor’s, there was this other family from Delhi. The doctor was telling the lady that her husband was very serious. They had come to Meerut because they couldn't find a bed in Delhi and she had a small child. I heard him saying he needs a plasma donor of blood group B+. But I had to give my plasma to my mom. I didn't know what to do because you can donate plasma only once. At that moment, I said I will give plasma to her husband keeping in mind that I won't be able to give it to my mom. The next day I went to the doctor and I asked about my health, the doctor said to tell her when we should discharge her. The doctor said your mom is doing really well if you want we can discharge her today. This is what we call karma,” he says.

He adds, “I got a message from that family saying that her husband is doing fine now. The lady told me, ‘We are three sisters and we believe in Krishna and you were Krishna for us at that time’. From that day onwards, I am very superstitious and a firm believer of God but that day I experienced it that there is a superpower that is watching us from somewhere. It is really important for us to be kind enough to help each other. It's a very proud feeling that I did a thing because of which I could bring a smile to someone's family. In return for what I got, I am grateful to God for that. Life is fragile and now also the pandemic is going on. There are 1657 cases a day and 300 deaths in a day, so let’s not ignore it.”