Recovery of 85-yr-old frail woman at SUM COVID Hospital infuses hope in elderly people

Bhubaneswar, May 13: Winning of an 85-year-old woman weighing just 22 kg in the battle against coronavirus has infused hope in elderly people in Odisha who were living in panic. The recovery of the octogenarian has not only brought a new ray of hope among elderly people aged over 60 years who are believed to be very vulnerable to the virus attack, but also raised the confidence of doctors in the state. "Earlier we were apprehensive about recovery of senior citizens from the deadly disease. However, the recent recovery of an 85-year-old woman has brought cheers," said Subhransu Rath, General Secretary Bhubaneswar Citizens' Apex Associations. The old woman is a resident of Katikata panchayat in Jajpur district and was admitted to the SUM COVID Hospital here on April 30 after she tested positive on the same day. And her recovery in only 12 days from the deadly disease that has claimed over two lakh lives across the globe has brought cheers to the doctors, nurses and paramedics who were treating her. Moreover, she was asymptomatic for the last three days before her discharge from the hospital on Tuesday, said the hospital authorities. In fact, 14 persons, all belonging to Jajpur district and including two three-year-old children, were discharged from the hospital on Tuesday. They also included a 60-year-old diabetic who was unaware about his condition when he got admitted to hospital. He was diagnosed with diabetes in hospital itself. The treatment also helped his pre-prandial blood sugar level to steeply reduce from 400 to 100 when he was released, the authorities said. The SUM Covid Hospital, set up in collaboration with the state government and supported by the public sector Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), has a total of 525 beds including 25 beds in the ICU. The hospital is functioning in a separate campus away from the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital.