‘Life gave us a 2nd chance. Everything is a bonus now’

Suvarna and Abhijeet Sawant with their son Avirat. Suvarna still faces breathing difficulties and will need to use an inhaler lifelong

It has been a year since COVID-19 cases in India started going through the roof and the lockdown was imposed. The year saw people lose jobs and lives, and families struggle to cope. mid-day has curated a series of stories of hope, courage and survival. We kick it off with the story of the Sawant family from Worli who landed on their feet after living through a nightmare.

The Sawants, like any other family in the city, were busy with their lives, bringing up their son, and working hard to invest in the future. But then both Suvarna and her husband, Abhijieet, contracted COVID-19. Their happy, routine lives turned upside down. Months after recovering and piecing their lives together, they recalled how they beat the new ‘C' and how it has made them rethink their lives.

Suvarna is a constable at the Traffic Police Headquarters in Worli and they stay at the Worli police quarters. Abhijeet works for a pharma company. They had the support of his mother who looked after their son. Abhijeet could work from home, but Suvarna had to go on bandobast duty. She took the utmost care like wearing masks, gloves, washing her hands regularly, using a sanitiser, and even took a bath when she got home.

At one point Suvarna had asked Abhijeet to take Avirat and move in with his mother. But Abhijeet only dropped off Avirat and refused to leave her alone. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Suvarna even told Abhijeet to go to his mother's house with their son Avirat. But Abhijeet only left Avirat with his mother. He refused to leave her alone. Suvarna started feeling feverish in the last week of May. Soon Abhijeet also caught a fever. Suvarna then went to J J Hospital for a test on May 29. She was then admitted to the Corona Centre at Marine Drive.

Abhijeet recalled the time tearfully, "Suvarna's health deteriorated. The mobile phone was the only link between us. There were times when she didn't answer my calls. Those moments were disturbing."

On June 3, Suvarna's oxygen level dropped, and staff shifted her to a nearby COVID hospital. She recalled, "A staff member told me to go to the second floor by lift. There was a long corridor and at the end, few old ladies slept on beds. The oxygen supply was not enough and we informed on a call to take the oxygen in turns." She managed to inform her family.

Her family tried to get a bed at a private hospital. Suvarna said, "Then I got a call from the office of an additional CP (traffic), Pravin Padval Sir. He assured me, ‘Don't worry. We are with you. We will make sure that you will get all the possible treatment. Just don't lose hope.' The police shifted me to Seven Hills hospital. But I still remember the faces of the old ladies. What happened to them?"

‘What if'
At Seven Hills hospital Suvarna was on oxygen for six days. Abhijeet was taken to Poddar Hospital. "Over phone calls, we discussed to whom we should give the responsibility of Avirat and his grandmother.

I blamed Abhijeet for not leaving me and staying with Avirat. I once told Abhijeet, it is a matter of pride to die while doing duty. But I don't want a death like this," said Suvarna. Fortunately the duo beat COVID-19. Abhijeet returned home on June 19. On June 22, he got a call about Suvarna being discharged.

Abhijeet said, "Earlier we had been just running behind money and the imaginary idea of a secure future. What if there isn't any future? So we have decided to slow down and enjoy life together. Life has given us a second chance. Everything is a bonus now."