British-Pakistani doctor reflects on battle with novel coronavirus

LONDON: A British Pakistani doctor, who contracted coronavirus while working as an Emergency Medicine Consultant in the National Health Service (NHS), has narrated his ordeal of battle with the virus.

Dr Shahid Sattar had caught the coronavirus after treating patients at East Sussex NHS Trust and was taken to Darent Valley Hospital where he was kept for six days in isolation. His condition had worsened and was put on oxygen support.

The Pakistani doctor, while talking about his lonely fight with the virus, told Geo News that his hospital started receiving COVID-19 patients in the third week of March.

"At that time, NHS hospitals weren't fully prepared for such a heavy influx of patients. There weren't very clear guidelines and even Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) wasn't available in sufficient quantities," said the medical professional. 

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Dr Shahid Sattar stated that he felt he had fever and body aches after coming home from work one day and suspected he had caught the virus since he was treating COVID-19 patients at that time.

“I got myself self-isolated at home to prevent the spread of the virus,” he said.

Due to this precaution, Dr Sattar's wife and children did not catch the disease.

After staying in self-isolation for 7 days, his condition worsened and had to be taken to Darent Valley Hospital for treatment. After his chest X-ray and blood test, he was surprised to see the damage COVID-19 had done to his body.

"I never thought I would be a patient in a hospital where I have treated patients myself," said Dr Sattar. During treatment, his condition further deteriorated and he eventually needed supplementary oxygen to breathe.

Dr Sattar, when asked about what was going in his mind during this time, he said that he started losing hope when he was put on oxygen support and felt that those would be his last days.

"I called my wife and my family in Pakistan but I had such a big problem breathing that I couldn't talk to them properly," said the doctor.

Dr Sattar's condition gradually improved but he recalled how helpless he felt when the disease took its toll on him. He added that his pain was greater because no one from his family or friends could visit him in the hospital.

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"I never thought I would face death this closely. I prayed to Allah to heal me. Now, thankfully, I am better and have been discharged from the hospital," said the doctor.

Dr Sattar also requested everyone to take all precautions against the virus since it was very real, serious and highly contagious. He advised people to stay at home and go outside only when it is absolutely necessary.