Mahendra Parekh Covid-19 Episode
August 23, 2020
Following is an account of our passage through a Covid-19 affliction and the three weeks it took us to a whirlwind experience of dealing with it. Most of ordeal narrated here is mine, but Harshada is included by default. Her symptoms were milder than mine and she recovered with a bit of an ease.
Pre-existing conditions
Although I have not smoked for over 20 years, I have been an ex-smoker for almost 25 years. Consequently, I suffer from mild COPD. In 2014/15, I had suffered a massive attack of lung inflammation which was misdiagnosed as idiopathic pneumonia. It took 45 days of investigation, including 23 days at JHU hospital, to conclude it to be an inflammation and not an infection. As luck would have it, neither Harshada nor I are afflicted with standard health ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, or cholesterol. With that as a background, I was constantly reminded by friends and family members to be extremely careful to avoid getting Covid-19 at any cost...
Post-Script
There were four people involved in helping us through ordeal — Parth Patel, Mahesh Rawat, Arvindbhai, and Pathik Joshi. As you will realize later in this write-up, how crucial it is to have support of local individuals to navigate through health and hospital systems in India, especially when demand outweighs supply...
How did I get Covid-19
Very first inquiry from most contacts during the episode was about, “If I knew how I got it!”... Seven of us from Nandigram family were afflicted by Covid-19 almost in the same time frame. Fortunately, all of us have come through with full recovery...
Chronology of Episodes — Month of August
August 4 — Started coughing in the afternoon, dry cough...
August 5 — Coughing more intense, slight chill...
August 6 — Vomited, fainted during morning prayer...
August 7 — Harshada also started feeling discomfort...
August 8 — CT scan appointment but clinic overcrowded...
August 9–10 — Symptoms worsening...
August 11 — CT scans for both, mine showed Covid-19 possibility...
August 12 — Rapid Covid test positive, oxygen fluctuating 88–92...
August 13 — Hospitalized, Remdesivir treatment started...
August 14–15 — Continued antiviral treatment, shifted to private room...
August 16–18 — Sketching emotional thoughts, Harshada’s symptoms worsened, hospitalized...
August 19–22 — Recovery, discharge, slow return to routine…
After the fact
CRP was 100 at hospital admission — normal is 6
Creatinine remained normal
X-rays showed progressive improvement
Even with 25% lung cloudiness, symptoms were severe
Coughing was the last symptom to ease
Private hospital doctors in India have highly efficient treatment pathways...
Sketchbook Diary
The document contains numerous labeled drawings representing emotions, metaphors and architecture — including:
“The Predatory Bird of the Universe”
“The conflict — haves and haves not”
“Destroyer of the sanctity of life”
“Earth Bound by COVID”
“Most Serene also got Whacked”
“Pavanputra pushing the COVID cloud out of Nandigram”
“Architecture Dancing with COVID”
“Lotus Temple on COVID”
“Calm, Quiet, Dignified”
“Relief”, “Help, Dedication”, “My Savior”, “Total Quiet – Surrounding Environment”, etc.
There are also handwritten notes on:
architectural philosophy,
design process,
functional layouts,
creative reasoning,
Nandigram master-vision, etc.