IN the beginning of April, Covid came knocking for the Bhatias, a family of five, who live in Bengaluru’s Banaswadi neighbourhood. The second wave had yet to assume its brutal proportions; most of the family, including two teenagers aged 18 and 17, got away with cold and fever, their recovery made easier with a five-day course of antibiotics and vitamin supplements. Only their 70-year-old grandmother had to be given steroids, to douse the internal inflammation.
Relieved that they had survived the worst, the Bhatias resumed their normal routine as soon as the symptoms subsided—only to have the nightmare return in two weeks. “My mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s,” says Abhishek Bhatia, 45, a manager at a software engineering firm. “A blood clot had possibly travelled to her brain. She hadn’t been given anti-coagulants during treatment.” Chronic fatigue and body ache prevented his wife from resuming her duties in the kitchen. The children complained of ‘brain fog’, unable to focus or think clearly. Bhatia himself reported lowgrade fever for six days after he tested negative, indicating internal inflammation, and was later found to have blood clots in one hand. “It has been two months since we tested negative, but none of us has the energy to live like we used to,” he says.
This story is from the June 28, 2021 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 28, 2021 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Silent Revolution
A Growing Force, The Woman Elector In India Is Realising The Power Of Her Vote And Using It To ***direct Her Own And The Nation's Destiny
The Forbidding Fruit
The disturbed snow cycle, the price of imported urea, cheaper imports from the South Asian neighbourhood-the whole world, it would appear, has been conspiring against the apple farmers of Himachal Pradesh.
Chicken Soup for the Heart
Former veejay, actor and now travel influencer, Shenaz Treasury is out with a book based on past romances-All He Left Me Was a Recipe
CITY OF DREAMS
This anthology of stories about Mumbai is like the city itself-crowded and chaotic, but ultimately illuminating
Diverse Vignettes
Edited by Arunava Sinha, The Penguin Book of Bengali Short Stories is a landmark new anthology which includes several previously untranslated works
A BREATH OF FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Ganesh V. Shivaswamy brings a sharp and balanced approach to his three volumes on Raja Ravi Varma
Time Travel
An exhibition in Bengaluru is showcasing an unseen artwork by legendary artist Raja Ravi Varma
INDIA AT CANNES 2024
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival marks the first time in 30 years that India has a feature film in the Palme d'Or competition section. And there's lots more...
Cusp of Greatness
Shriya Pilgaonkar comes into her own as an intrepid reporter in Zee5's The Broken News
THE GREAT DISRUPTOR
Rapper SlowCheeta is trying to shake things up with his EP, Scene Mein Bawaal