‘We stopped his chemo because of the virus’: How the ill are coping with the lockdown

It was worse than a nightmare.

There was a sudden knock on the door. First, it was subtle, then louder and finally it felt as if someone was trying to break the door open.

Sumon jumped up from bed and opened the door. It was his father, whose asthma fit was back.

"He was choking and had totally turned blue," Sumon, who works for a private firm, told this correspondent.

It was around 3am on Wednesday last week when his father, who has long been suffering from asthma, got his fit.

"My father needs to be nebulised frequently. His heart condition has affected the asthma and made things worse," Sumon said.

Before the shutdown, whenever his father's health deteriorated, Sumon would take him to hospital or seek help from the paramedic in his neighbourhood.

But the lockdown has made things difficult.

"Ever since the lockdown began, the paramedic in our area has been away. Now, if things get out of hand, we will be in serious trouble," Sumon said.

Sumon's father is not the only one as there are many other cases where patients requiring constant medical support are struggling to cope with the situation.

Sixty-seven-year old Shamima had to move out of her house and relocate to live with her daughter and son-in-law because her caregiver has been barred from entering the building.

"My mother, a widow, has blood pressure, diabetes and kidney issues. We appointed a caregiver for her, who comes in the morning and stays till the evening.

"But after the government-imposed shutdown came into effect, the caregiver could not come in because the guards were not letting her enter the building," Shamima's daughter said.

Finally, the daughter came and took Shamima away, apparently because there was nobody else to provide the necessary care for her.

Many others have narrated different stories, mentioning problems they and their closed ones have been facing.

Nuzhat is a lawyer, who lives and works in Dhaka. Her grandfather is 91 years old and has been a cancer patient for over 14 years.

Talking to this correspondent, she said her grandfather had been taking chemotherapy at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka, but recently it has been suspended.

"We stopped sending him to the hospital because of the virus. He is too weak and we do not think he will be able to go to the hospital himself amid this pandemic," Nuzhat said.

"We do not want to put him at risk and expose him to the virus. But I also wonder what we will do if the lockdown is extended," she said with concern in her voice.

The country reported its first three cases of the novel coronavirus on March 8. So far, 155 people have died and over 6,000 have been infected.

The government has asked the citizens to stay at home and practice social distancing. In a bid to contain the virus, all offices, educational institutions, and commercial entities have been shut down.

On March 23, the government announced a ten-day general holiday from March 26 to April 4, which was extended till April 11 and then till April 25. Finally, the shutdown was extended till May 5.

The shutdown has affected every person of the society, especially those who need additional facilities such as medical care.

Talking to this correspondent, a few people have also complained that they have been harassed on their way to the hospital and back home.

"My mother-in-law is a kidney patient and since she has dismissed her driver, I take her to the hospital three days a week for dialysis. But often I am harassed by the police on my way," said Rahik Hasan.

Some people also reported facing difficulties in getting doctor's appointments. Many claimed that hospitals had rescheduled their appointments, and some appointments had also been cancelled.

Many others were also very worried about the safety of patients.

Those who are still going to the hospital for regular check-up or other medical attention are keeping a distance from their family members.

But for how long this will continue, they keep asking.

There are no clear answers.