MELAKA, Feb 24: Octogenarian K (not his real name) from Tanjung Kling here is one of many people of his age who recovered after being infected with the COVID-19 virus in December last year.
The 89-year-old is among 256,678 patients who have recovered in the COVID-19 pandemic in the country which has claimed 1,076 lives in Malaysia as at yesterday (Feb 23).
Pak Cik (uncle) K, as he fondly known, recalled his experience of being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Melaka Hospital, for 24 days as something that the community should not take lightly given the severity of the impact of the pandemic on people’s lives.
As he is categorised in a high risk group, throughout his treatment while being in the ICU, his blood samples were taken daily and he had to take nine types of medicine in the morning and evening to ensure a smooth recovery process.
He recalled that his nightmarish experience started in December when 32 family members returned to the village to celebrate one of his grandchildren, who was married and lived in Negeri Sembilan, returning to Melaka when the interstate travel ban was lifted by the government.
“One of my sons had just received a new son-in-law a few months earlier and we were unable to attend the wedding due to the interstate travel ban.
“Once the ban was lifted, we all agreed to welcome the arrival of the new family member at my house in Tanjung Kling, unaware that one of them had been infected with COVID-19,” he said when met by Bernama at his house here.
Three days later, one of his children started having a fever and underwent COVID-19 screening before being confirmed positive for the virus, he said.
Following that, all his family members underwent COVID-19 screening with 10 of them, including himself, testing positive while 18 others had to undergo self-quarantine.
“We were all placed in several hospitals in the southern region of the country, while I was admitted to the ICU of Melaka Hospital for more than three weeks due to old age and high blood pressure.
“While in the hospital, I had to take nine types of medicine besides having a blood sample taken daily by the hospital as it had to monitor the health of each COVID-19 patient.
“Only God knows, it was such a nerve-wrecking experience for me daily as I am in a high risk category, apart from not being able to contact family members who were worried about my condition,” he said.
Now that he is fully recovered, he also expressed gratitude that Malaysia received the first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday.
“I can’t wait to receive the vaccine but I know there is a schedule that needs to be adhered to before it is my turn to receive the vaccine.
“What we all should do and must do before receiving the vaccine is to practice physical distancing, wearing a face mask while outdoors and using hand sanitiser. I had had enough of being admitted in hospital due to COVID-19. Once is enough,” he said.- Bernama
