How I tested negative and positive at the same time - Chapter 2

For Chapter 1 Read here: How I tested negative and positive at the same time - Chapter 1

Apr 23, 2021  Friday - I woke up to a fresh morning and there were no signs of abdomen pain. The whole day routine was as usual but around after 6.00 pm the pain started again mildly. This time I panicked immediately because I was not in a state of mind to go through it again. So I called few friends and colleagues to see if there are any doctors for emergency treatment. Luckily my office colleague Archana suggested to me Dr. Raman Kidney stone center and said that he might be available for treatment. Though it was way past the consulting hours, she quickly called the clinic and somehow  got an appointment. She informed us about the appointment and asked us to start immediately. I and Dad rushed to the center, the doctor was waiting for us. There upon hearing my symptoms he too plainly said that it must be kidney stones. But when I showed him the scan reports which I had taken earlier he said he cannot rely on the scan report and asked me to come next day for a fresh scan in his center. He took me into his confidence by saying that he will take care that my pain will not come back again and prescribed few tablets for the night. Right after he said that somehow I felt the pain to be reduced. We came back home from the center had dinner and I had the tablets which Dr.Raman gave. This time again while sleeping I felt the same chills which was there on previous night. I did not feel feverish though and slept the whole night with the quilt on.

Apr 24, 2021 - Saturday Again a fresh start and it was all back to normal. Till this time I and family were only worried about the kidney stones. The doctor had asked me to visit around 2.30 PM to 3.30 PM for a fresh scan and consultation. After having lunch I went to the scan center and I did not take anyone with me. I registered my name and waited for my turn. There were around 10 to 15 people before me. My turn came and I was asked to go the scanning room. Inside the scanning room there were two persons working in tandem, one of them probably a senior radiologist / a more experienced professional who did the scanning and the other one was preparing the detailed report almost instantly. The scan went on about 5 mins, and they asked me to wait outside for the consultation. 

After 10 mins I was asked to meet the doctor who was in another room and I went inside with a confident mindset. By that time the doctor had the scan report with him and he had already studied it. He politely greeted me with namaste gesture (which I don't get to see usually) and asked me to take a seat which was safely placed at a distance away from him. He quickly started by saying, "Enna scan eduthinga neengaa" (What scan you took.? - In a sarcastic tone). He then sketched two kidneys and a gall bladder in a plain white sheet and explained that my left kidney has 3 stones, right kidney has 3 or 4 stones and one stone has come down in the path between kidney and gall bladder. My confident mindset was broken at this point. Then he also added that all the stones are less than 5 mm so it can be easily dissolved using tablets and this time he prescribed me around 7 tablets for 10 days. I asked him if I can have a normal diet, for which he casually replied "nothing to worry" and also suggested that I can even continue my Ramadan fasting. I was surprised and quite relieved with this and thought may be this is an usual case for him. The mistake I did here was I did not tell him that I was having chills during nights. After the consultation there were numerous thoughts running in my mind and somehow I calmed myself and took the tablets from the pharmacy counter and quickly left the place. While I was returning home I got a call from the clinic. The receptionist asked 

Receptionist: Sir Abdul Aleem ah? 

Me: Aama sollunga (Yes speaking)

Receptionist: Sir fees pay pannama poitingale sir (Sir, you have left without paying the fees)

Me: Ooh sorry nga. Varaen oru 10 mins😛😛 ( Sorry, I'll be there in 10 mins)

I turned around and went back to the center to pay the consultation and scan fee. From there I came back home, and WhatsApp ed my reports to the family group who were not aware of my Chapter 1. And almost immediately I continuously got calls and to every person I had to tell same story beginning from Chapter 1 till here in repeat mode. 😂😂 The rest of the day went like this. And the chills continued to be there in the nights.

Apr 25, 2021 Sunday. The whole day I was normal, I ate, slept, watched movies and at night I started feeling weird. It was like I could feel the heat inside my body  but outside the temperature was normal. Though we did not have the thermometer at this moment, we had the pulse oximeter so kept checking for the oxygen level. It constantly showed 94 and not more than that, no matter how many ever times I try and whatever finger I try. I was confident that it could not be Covid as I had no other symptoms and this fever or chills only comes at night. But Aisha got suspicious and as usual we checked the internet for causes. While I was searching for kidney stones side effects, Aisha on the other hand was searching for Covid symptoms and see if it matches with mine. She quickly searched for paracetamol tablets it was not there so I went out and bought one strip and a thermometer along with it. As soon as I reached home we checked the temperature it was 99. My unofficial quarantine days started with it, I was moved to my Dad's room and Dad shifted his essential things to hall. My work laptop and other essentials were given to me and I started maintaining social distancing. As this was the first day of my fever we did not think about doing a Covid test. I took the paracetamol tablet skipped the kidney tablets and slept off, but this time I did not feel the chills as I used to have the previous nights.

Apr 26, 2021: Monday morning I was feeling back to normal. No fever signs / no pains. I felt fresh and thought may be the paracetamol I took last night did the job. So as usual to start the week on a fresh note I took a head bath logged in early by 10 a.m than usual as I had pending things from last week. By 1.00 PM I started feeling pains near my shoulder. Usually when I'm over stressed out it pains in that area and to overcome it I sleep for a while. But that day I could not sleep as I had continuous calls.  By the day progressed the pain also aggravated. By night time again I started feeling feverish and we checked the temperature this time it was 101. Everyone panicked.... I still believed it must the after effects of last week. But since everyone insisted and to rule out the fear I decided to go for a Covid Test. Meanwhile this oximeter never showed above 94 every time I checked. The same routine continued, I put a paracetamol and had to skip my kidney tablets and slept.

Apr 27, 2021: Tuesday Testing Day As usual when I woke up there was no fever. With no interest and the fear that it might turn out to be a positive result I was hesitant to get up from bed though I woke up early. Finally at around 10.00 AM Dad asked when shall we going for the test. 

Quietly I changed my clothes and started alone to Aarthi Scans Tambaram. While stepping out I was asked to take CT scan too (Research by Aisha says that the RtPCR were coming as negative though people had all the symptoms related to Covid hence she wanted to be sure). When I reached the test center, there were already 50 members before me filling a form for the test and it was crowded outside near the entrance. Not sure who was positive who was negative. People were supposed to produce negative Covid test for International and Inter state travelling so everyone was there. No social distancing nothing. (Based on my experience either call the person for home sample collection or go during afternoon it looks less crowded than in morning). Their system was unique

1. Get the form with token number written on top of it.

2. Fill it (basic details, Aadhar number, symptoms) and wait until they call the number

3. When they call, go and pay the test fee separately in another counter with the form.

4. Come back and go for the sample collection.

After waiting for almost 3 hours I gave the sample at around 12.00 PM and I asked where should I go for a CT scan. Fortunately/ Unfortunately the CT machine was down in that center and I was asked to go to the Chrompet branch. From there I went to Chrompet branch and all this I was doing alone and did not have any tiredness / symptoms related to Covid. When I reached the Chrompet branch there too the situation was  similar. There were around 20 to 25 ppl crowding the entrance.  I stood out for sometime and tried to understand the procedure of what was happening in the crowd. I never dared to go into the crowd. And when the chance came went I quickly went inside to enquire about the CT scan. They said I need to wait for another hour. Now I was fed up and started to home since I was not interested in all these process. On the way had two tender coconuts, remember I had to keep myself hydrated. Upon arriving at home I quietly had my lunch and took rest. And since I did not take CT scan Aisha started searching for other scan centers if they were available. And by the time she called Aarthi scans customer care to check for other branches, the Tambaram scan machine which they said was down was up and ready. Now again I had to go out for the scan. This time when I went to the scan center it was less crowded. The scan procedure was very simple, I filled the form for CT, paid the amount and within 5 minutes was called for scan. The scanning machine was terrifying.

I was asked to keep all my belongings on a table and lay down in the machine. The circular hollow tube is where the actual scan happens. It was also making some weird noises. In my mind I was thinking if I was the first person whom they are testing with if the machine is working or not as the machine was just repaired. The person who was instructing me then went inside a room and instructed through a speaker system. I closed my eyes most of the times and whenever I closed my eyes all the Final destination scenes would flash over and I would open my eyes for a while😛😛. The scan was done. I went home and spent the rest of the day resting. At night again I started feeling feverish and checked my temperature, it showed 99. The tablet routine continued and by this time I had started steam inhalation too. 

While I was browsing Facebook and YouTube as a time pass at around 11 PM I got my RtPCR results via an SMS link. I downloaded and it read "Not Detected". A sense of relief and my mind voice was like "Naan thaan sonnaen laa" (I knew it....). I then shared it to my family group and as I was already in unofficial quarantine Aisha called me and asked "Why you did not inform me first". For which I had no answer..🙄🙄. And with that I slept off. 

Now only the scan report was pending and it was due the next day which was an another interesting day all together.

Stay Tuned for the next chapter....