One year of Covid in UAE: 3 residents recall how they beat virus

Dubai - Strong immunity makes all the difference, say recovered Covid patients

It's hard to believe it's been a year since Covid-19 affected almost every facet of our lives. More unbelievable is the number of lives the virus has impacted and taken.

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Of the hundreds of thousands of individuals who have recovered from the disease in the UAE, three residents share their experiences as well as their understanding of how immunity plays a key role in protection from any disease.

Early survivor advocates holistic welbeing

To be among the first to be smitten by a potentially life-threatening virus can be frightening, to say the least.

Thirty-nine-year-old Deenadayalan Sekar’s Covid-19 diagnosis came right at the onset, when the world was just beginning to learn about the Covid-19 virus. He'd been deputed with the task of managing the stay of asymptomatic patients at one of the hotels in Dubai and believes his exposure might have occurred there, leading to him contracting of the virus.

Needless to say, what followed was a difficult and confusing time for him, as he was hospitalised soon after for 10 days.

Deenadayalan reminiscences, “I had pneumonia, continuous cough, diarrhoea and intermittent high fever in June. That went on for some time. In fact, even after I recovered, post-Covid-19, I started experiencing sleep issues. I could not sleep well at night.”

“That’s when I realised I needed to make lifestyle changes. I started exercising regularly and controlling my diet to a great extent. My altered diet plan includes more of a vegetarian diet now. I eat non-veg only once or twice a week. Besides, I have also started resorting to home remedies like keshaya (herbal drink) that help in boosting immunity,” reveals the Indian expat.

Deenadayalan believes that mental well-being is as important as physical fitness in battling the disease and its fallouts. “I am planning to re-register my entire family for swimming, once the summer is here. I feel immunity is a key defence against the disease. Therefore, my advice is: whatever your area of interest may be, take some time out to exercise.”

Immunity key in fighting any disease

Tending to Covid-19 patients, 65-year-old Dr Nazyak Raoof knew that he was in the thick of the fight against the pandemic.

His call for duty superseded all concerns about his own age and health that made him fall into the high-risk category. Although, he took all necessary precautions, he too fell victim to the contagion. Dr Raoof believes his inner calm and outer strength helped him recover sooner than many others his age.

“I was assigned duties in the outpatient clinic in May. I followed all safety protocols while handling my patients, but after a few days, I developed a mild fever. A swab test revealed I had Covid-19 and a small patch of pneumonia on the chest too. I didn’t have any other visible symptoms, but had to be admitted to the hospital for 10 days. Thankfully, the viral load was low and I recovered soon,” he recalled.