On 21st July 2021, both my parents started coughing mildly with no other symptoms. On the 22rd my father developed mild fever but no other symptoms. We gave him some medicines, but my father's conditions worsened and we took him to the hospital.
He was a heart patient and had dementia as well. He was stable and walked to the hospital himself. We notcied some breating issue while he was getting in the car. Hospital tested him and decalred he had COVID with very low oxygen levels (67) and immediately put him on oxygen.
It was when the Delta variation was spreading fast. The tests confirmed that 65% of his lungs were damaged with complications. Evetually my mother was brought to the hospital same day and both were sent to ICU with oxygen. My mother immediately felt better after she was given oxygen and the injection.
My father went to bi-pap and c-pap and remained in ICU for five days. Me and my sister spent every minute with him in ICU as we both sisters were taking care of them. He took his last breath on 28th July evening. Doctors and staff made every effort to save his life but he left us after multiple organ failures.
It was devastating for us as it all happened in five days. As a family, we could not hug each other as I developed symptoms on the day of my father's funeral. I could not comfort my mother as she was still positive and recovering. My siblings could not see me and my mother. we could not see our family members and friends and we cried in isolation for days. I was also hospitlaized due to severe symptoms and my grief, fatigue from spending time in ICU with my father impacted the way i dealt with COVID myself. I also have lung damaged and severe symptoms with complication despite i was fullly vaccinated.
I am still dealing with the truama of spending time with my father in ICU, seeing other COVID patients passing, the passing of my dad and then not being able to see my family at that difficult time. COVID not only caused health related issues but also caused deep emotional wounds and trauma that will take a long tme for affected people to overcome. My post-COVID depression is not over along with unresolved grief.
