Mumbai man had returned home after spending 85 days in a hospital battling against COVID-19. 54-year-old Bharat Panchal’s family wasn’t sure he would arrive back home.

Panchal owns and manages a chemist shop in Vikhroli that had a fever on 8th April almost two weeks after receiving 1st dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. He developed lung complications in just four days. He was given high-flow nasal cannula oxygen requirement and even non-invasive ventilation and lastly mechanical ventilation in a week’s time. His CT severity score was 21 out of 25.

He was on a ventilator for over 70 days and battled acute kidney injury, sepsis, liver dysfunction, multiorgan failure, lung rupture, and even a mucormycosis scare. 

Dr. Arpita Dwivedy, a chief intensivist at Hiranandani said that this was the longest hospitalization recorded in 15 months. Plasma therapy, remdesivir, and tocilizumab, a range of antibacterial and antifungal medicines, everything was used on him.

Dr. Harish Panchal, his brother said that bed number 5 in the ICU became his second home. Bharat had developed ICU psychosis and had stopped communicating with his wife, son, and daughters. His family could meet him as he was moved to the non-Covid ICU. These meetings with family made a lot of difference.

Bharat reached one last critical moment when his lungs started bleeding. They thought he won’t survive but the doctors managed to retrieve him by repairing him in a tracheostomy. He went home with minimal oxygen support. His family spent over Rs 40 lakh. 

KEM Hospital dean Dr. Hemant Deshmukh said eight patients were hospitalized in the range of 89 - 150 days in their hospital. A 73-year-old Worli resident was discharged after 112 days of hospitalization. Lung complications and involvement of other organs lead to a lengthy recovery.

Source: ET Healthworld