COVID-19 DIARIES: Surviving on the Ventilator

Patient in Pune battles Covid-19 and Pneumothorax simultaneously.

This story is about a woman and her younger sister living in Pune, India, in April 2021. The elder sister’s name is Bhoomika Pardeshi, and the younger sister’s name is Lalita Pardeshi.

Bhoomika has always been loving, caring and is depicted to be an independent elder sister towards her younger sibling (Lalita). Bhoomika Pardeshi is a B.Com graduate and has been running a business collection agency to aid her family’s needs. She loves to cook new dishes for her family members and has a craving and passion for traveling. Bhoomika and her younger sister Lalita share a special bond apart from being siblings. They spend every occasion in their family together without fail and help each other out no matter any situation. The joy and moments shared among the siblings were about to take a drastic turn.

In Pune, April 2021, Covid-19’s second wave hit India and Pune was one of the many cities to be affected by the virus tremendously. Bhoomika, being the elder sibling, used to always travel to work around that time. On 12th April, Bhoomika was tested covid positive and started to face breathing issues. Looking at her elder sister’s condition, Lalita was frightened and admitted her elder sister to Pune Adventist Hospital immediately.  On 15th April, Bhoomika’s condition started to worsen, and she was revealed in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) on the ventilator. Hoping for a speedy recovery, the younger sister began to pray for her elder sister’s health to be alright and for things to go back to normal as she could not bear the suffering of her elder sibling.

On 6th May, through the reports of the breathing issues faced by Bhoomika, the doctors found out that she was diagnosed with a rare lung disease called Pneumothorax in her left lung. Pneumothorax is a condition that occurs when air leaks into the space between the lungs and chest wall. As if suffering from covid-19 wasn’t enough, Pneumothorax was just another burden to be faced by both the sisters where Bhoomika had to battle both of these deadly lung diseases simultaneously. While her younger sibling could not do much, but pray for her elder sister’s recovery and get the required medications for her sister daily seemed the only way to aid her. Hearing about this condition about her sister, Lalita’s heart ached even to consider how much her elder sister’s going through and that she couldn’t be there beside her at that point.

Two weeks had passed by, and Bhoomika had begun to show signs of recovery but was kept on the ventilator to monitor her condition. Between 22nd and 25th May, Bhoomika was on 8-10 liters of oxygen to keep her oxygen level up. But suddenly, on 25th May, she developed a pain in her stomach which led to her oxygen level depleting to 50 mm. During that time, the doctors found out that she was diagnosed with Pneumothorax in her right lung as well. The only way to treat Pneumothorax is through the insertion of an ICD. Chest tube insertion means a hollow plastic tube is inserted between the ribs into the pleural space. The tube is connected to a machine that helps with the drainage of fluid, blood, or air from the patient’s chest. It seemed like as the days went by, Bhoomika’s condition only got more critical and worse. But yet, she’s fighting her battle of survival for the sake of her younger sister and family.

It’s been two months since Bhoomika had been admitted and is yet on the ventilator. The treatment of Bhoomika comes around eight lakhs, and the family is unable to pay the required amount to aid a daughter and an elder sister who is suffering from a critical condition for more than 60 days. Currently, two lakhs and fifty thousand rupees have been raised for the treatment of Bhoomika through Impact Guru.

Even the smallest donation would help a younger sister to laugh, hug and once again spend ample time with her elder sister, who means the world to her.  When asked about how the family copes with this situation, the younger sister replied, “We are quite positive and have faith in God because he will help her recover soon as she is a fighter and is fighting it back.” She also mentioned that they keep Bhoomika motivated on Video calls or whenever they get a chance to visit her, so she doesn’t get demotivated.

A generous contribution would not only save a life but would also bring a smile to the suffering patient and her younger sister once again.

If anybody wishes to confirm the patient’s condition, they can get in direct touch with the sister.

Name: Lalita Pardeshi

Contact No.: +91 8551009604

Donation Link: https://www.impactguru.com/fundraiser/help-bhoomika-pardeshi