After spending 104 days in two different hospitals battling COVID-19 in the second wave, Murugesh, a resident of Ittigegud here, was discharged from the hospital after finally testing negative.
The lengthy fight against the virus and the successful recovery from an acute condition has become a sort of a case study for doctors, who have described it as one of the rarest cases of recovery after prolonged ICU stay, suffering from severe complications due to COVID-19.
Though he has been discharged, his ordeal is still not over as he has to overcome the serious damage caused to his lungs. Murugesh, 42, who is into wood works, has to be on oxygen support for at least a month. Out of 104 days of hospital stay, he was under aggressive intensive care for 93 days. The determined fight of doctors and nursing staff is highly commendable, said the patient’s family.
Murugesh had to be given 60 to 70 litres of oxygen per minute to keep him alive. His oxygen necessity has now dropped to 6 to 8 litres per minute, which is said to be managed at home.
The patient defeated COVID-19 not once but twice as he was reinfected during the course of treatment. He first tested positive on April 29 and was hospitalised on May 1 after his condition worsened. His wife and two children had also tested positive but recovered under home isolation. Due to severe lung infection, Murugesh’s CT severity score showed 25/25, which stunned doctors. His saturation level had dropped to as low as 30%.
Unable to get a non-invasive ventilator at the State-run K.R. Hospital, Murugesh was rushed to a private hospital near the palace here where he was in critical care unit for nearly 33 days and thereafter, tested negative. He had to be shifted to another private hospital in Jayalakshmipuram because of complications but eventually tested positive again. His condition turned critical and he ended up in the ICU yet again for over 60 days.
Girish Kumar S., consultant in internal medicine, who closely monitored the case and coordinated with doctors treating him at the private hospitals, said Murugesh’s case could be one of the longest hospital stays for a COVID-19 patient in the State or perhaps in South India. He also successfully overcame ICU psychosis and superbug infection. The intensivists and physicians took the case as a challenge and saved him, he said.
“Murugesh suffered serious inflammation triggering fluid build-up in lungs. He is on anti-fibrotic drugs for preventing pulmonary fibrosis. His dependence on oxygen had to be taken care of at home by his family,” said Dr. Girish, while thanking Dr. Gururaj, Dr. M.K. Aiyappa, the nursing staff, and physiotherapists for their support in saving the patient.
The family so far spent nearly ₹25 lakh on his treatment even though half of it was taken care of by the government under Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST).
Unable to foot the bills after the SAST benefit was halted after Murugesh tested negative on August 7, the family decided to shift him to home and take care of his oxygen needs. His daily expenses will come up to ₹6,000-₹7,000 daily as he may need at least five jumbo oxygen cylinders of 72 litres capacity daily.
Devaraj, a relative of Murugesh, said the entire family fought for his recovery and my brother-in-law’s fight is still on because of his continuous oxygen dependency. “We took out a huge loan for his treatment. His (Murugesh) friends also raised a sizable sum for his treatment. We cannot afford hospitalisation anymore due to financial difficulties.”
