COVID-19 tales: ‘I was unconscious for nine days,’ says Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad

Jitendra Awhad, first Maharashtra cabinet minister to test positive, makes it to our list of 20 faces who defied fear and disease to follow their heart or duty and emerge 'the first'

First Maharashtra Cabinet Minister To Test Positive 

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Jitendra Awhad, 55, Mumbai 
Housing Minister, State of Maharashtra 

My last fleeting conscious memory was of standing at the door of Fortis Hospital, Mulund [on April 23]. I collapsed soon after. I woke up only nine days later.
Since the start of the lockdown, I had been working within my constituency [Mumbra-Kalwa]. If I stepped out, it was mostly for work. I was distributing nearly 80,000 food packets daily. I couldn’t take a backseat because cases were rising. But, I wasn’t travelling outside Mumbai much, and I was ensuring that I was masked all the time.

By April 16 though, I started experiencing crippling fatigue. The initial swab test had come negative, but I was still very weak. So, I did another test. There was little or no knowledge about the disease, and doctors were still trying to figure the right kind of treatment. I got myself admitted to Jupiter Hospital [in Thane]. But, [NCP chief] Sharad Pawarji, and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackerayji, in consultation, decided to shift me to Fortis Hospital. 

There, I was on hydroxychloroquine [which at the time, was considered the most effective line of treatment for COVID-19 patients]. The weakness continued, but doctors felt that this was primarily because of the meds. I had no other symptoms. But, after I slipped into unconsciousness, things began to get worse. Doctors later said that I had just 30 per cent chance of survival then. What made it worse was that my entire family, including my sisters, who didn’t even live with us, and my staff had tested positive. Only my daughter [Natasha] was spared, and she took on the responsibility for all of us.

I was discharged on May 10, nearly 10 days after regaining consciousness. Recovery was slow. I was weak and couldn’t do much work. For the next few weeks, my daughter took charge of my diet, and ensured that I got back on my feet. I think I suffered more because I picked up the infection right at the beginning of the pandemic. Nobody had any clue about symptoms, problems or long-term side-effects. What’s important is that everyone worked hard to ensure things get better. It’s because of the care and treatment by the doctors, and support of everyone around me, that I managed to survive.

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