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HomeIndia‘Zeal for living’: How 97-year-old man in Agra, bed-ridden with lung disease,...

‘Zeal for living’: How 97-year-old man in Agra, bed-ridden with lung disease, beat Covid

G.C. Gupta, a retired engineer, tested positive in May. Doctors say he never showed any nervousness and instead, was more concerned about his family. 

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Agra: As India struggles to fight Covid, the story of a 97-year-old retired civil engineer from Uttar Pradesh recovering from the deadly virus provides some ray of hope, specially for the senior citizens, who are believed to be most vulnerable to the highly infectious disease.

G.C. Gupta’s recovery from coronavirus is nothing short of a miracle. Doctors attributed his recovery to his “zeal for living”, which, they said, helped him fight all his complications.

According to health officials, Gupta had tested positive on 29 May. He was already suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, which is a chronic inflammatory lung disease, and also from urinary tract infection. He has been bedridden for the past 7 years due to these complications. 

ThePrint reached out to his family members, who live in Delhi, but they didn’t give any details and said it’s a “sensitive time” to talk about it. 

G.C Gupta at the hospital | Twitter | @PrabhuNs_

However, a health official, who didn’t want to be named, told ThePrint Gupta may have contracted the virus while seeking treatment for his complications in hospitals.

Gupta, who stays alone with just a caretaker, was taken to Nayati Hospital from his Gandhi Nagar residence after he tested positive. While he was being shifted to an isolation ward, he had breathing troubles.

He tested negative for coronavirus on 9 June and was released the next day. Health officials said he was monitored round-the-clock at the hospital even after he tested negative and was released only after he was found to be perfectly healthy.

Currently, Gupta has been advised to stay under home-quarantine. When ThePrint tried to contact Gupta, a family member said he couldn’t speak as he had been advised to wear an oxygen mask.

Nayati Hospital in Agra, where 97-year-old G.C. Gupta was treated for Covid
Nayati Hospital in Agra, where G.C. Gupta was treated for Covid | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Also read: 95-year-old woman in Italy recovered from COVID-19 ‘without any antiviral medication’


‘He was very calm’

A hospital executive, who did not want to be named, told ThePrint, “Mr Gupta didn’t show any nervousness, rather he was more concerned about his family. He was very calm.”

A doctor at Nayati Hospital said: “The recovery of a patient who tests positive for coronavirus also depends on their will power. Mr Gupta had such a zeal for living that he pushed through all these complications and we supported him through that process.” 

District Magistrate, Agra, Prabhu N. Singh also hailed Gupta’s spirit, saying he is a “motivation” and “ray of hope”.

“97 years old Mr Gupta a #Covid19 patient discharged hail & healthy from L-2 facility Nayati Agra ;He is a motivation to all of us & ray of hope to all #Covid19 patients especially of older age Salute to #CoronaWarrior Mr Gupta (sic),” he tweeted.


Also read: Endless queues & funerals, scared staff — Delhi’s Covid crisis unravels in chaos at crematoria


Covid status of Agra

Asked about the rising cases of coronavirus in the city, DM Singh said: “In a city with a population of 55 lakh people, we only have 1,038 coronavirus cases so far. We have tested over 17,000 people so far, including those who are asymptomatic. The city has not witnessed any evidence of community transmission since the officials are able to trace back the source of the virus.”

Moreover, 84 per cent of the coronavirus cases in the city have been cured and 840 people have been discharged as of 14 June, he added.

Similar Covid recovery cases among elderly people

Gupta is, however, not the only example of an elderly patient recovering from the virus.

Last month, a 93-year-old man and his 88-year-old wife in Kerala recovered from the deadly virus. The couple had contracted the virus from their son who had returned from Italy.

In Indore, a 95-year-old woman also recovered from the virus last month and, in her case too, officials termed the recovery a result of her strong will power. 

In Pune, a 92-year-old woman recovered from coronavirus in April.

‘Not every elderly will die of Covid’

Dr Gopi Chand Khilnani, chairman, pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Delhi’s PSRI Hospital, told ThePrint: “What we have understood about this virus is that it affects all age groups starting from infants to the most elderly. Only thing is that the outcome is worse in elderly and those who have hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.” 

“But this is not to say that everybody who is elderly will die of the virus. Above the age of 79, the chances of mortality is expected to be 14.8 per cent. So, 85.2 per cent would recover anyway.” 

He explained if an 85-year-old, for instance, tests positive then they are advised to be more careful because they might not even witness breathlessness and their health might suddenly deteriorate. “The duration of transmission is more in younger people,” he said. 

“If there are senior citizens with a risk of heart disease, kidney disease or even cancer, they are more likely to succumb to the virus,” Dr Khilnani added. 


Also read: What pandemic? For some Indians, Unlock 1.0 means Covid crisis is over


 

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1 COMMENT

  1. Low quality reporting. There are no details of what exactly was the treatment Mr Gupta got, how timely it was and if there were any ups and downs during the course of treatment etc. Will power is fine but that cannot be enough to overcome COVID 19. The fact is nobody needs to die of COVID if they get quality care, especially oxygen therapy and good management of comorbidities. Many are dying simply because their oxygen levels are dipping and they cannot get admission to a hospital with oxygen facilities. This needs to change and is the single biggest factor in determining mortality, more than age of the patient.

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