93-year-old wife of former President of India Shankar Dayal Sharma recovers from Covid-19

Vimala Sharma, wife of former President of India, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma has recovered from coronavirus and has been discharged from AIIMS trauma centre, Thursday evening, The Indian Express reported.

Her family said that her oxygen levels started dipping on June 5, shortly after which her samples were taken for testing, her reports came positive on June 6. Vimala Sharma, who is 93-years-old is one among the oldest to have recovered from Coronavirus in Delhi.

“To our horror, her report was positive and we immediately rushed her to AIIMS. It came as a shock as she doesn’t go out of the house at all. The first four days, her condition did deteriorate a bit. I know she is 93 but losing her to a virus would have been the worst…,” her son Ashutosh Dayal Sharma told the publication.

Her family got to talk to her only twice during the entire duration of her stay at that hospital, but the fact that she was hospitalised for almost 18 days and yet did not have to be put on ventilator support kept the family’s hope buoyant. “The biggest challenge is that you are cut off from all known faces. But it is important not to panic…,” Ashutosh said.

A second test was conducted after 15 days, which came out negative, “On Tuesday, we started planning the discharge. We were in touch with Dr Neeraj Nischal, who was helping us with her treatment. The whole family is extremely happy that we got her home. It’s still a long road… she is on nasal oxygen support of 2-3 litres per hour,” Ashutosh added.

According to the doctors at AIIMS, Delhi, apart from antibiotics, a high flow nasal cannula was used in her treatment. “If that doesn’t work, then we put the patient on a ventilator. During this time, it is important for the family and patient not to lose hope. All is not lost, even if you develop Covid-19. People must take precautions and seek help if their condition worsens,” a senior doctor at AIIMS told the daily.