For Everyone Who Lost A Loved One To COVID

Everything felt grey. There was a sky of gloom cast on us, the clouds of desolation bringing bouts of teary rain-drops. On one side there was a cry for a cylinder, and on the other a helpless plea for a stranger’s plasma. At the time all we could think was, “When will this end?” 

The country was in despair and there was a lingering fear, an overwhelming sense of empathy for every family infected with the virus. But when the patient you’re reading about on the internet becomes a next-door neighbour, which then becomes your family, suddenly the empathy snowballs into a feeling of impending doom. 

You still convince yourself nothing will go wrong- my family will be okay, their immunity is good enough. It’s when the oximeter readings start looking worse every day, then every hour, until the drop is steady and the mad hunt for a hospital bed begins. 

The sinking feeling married with the helplessness made everything all the more terrifying, did it not?

Some people were lucky, some were not; some of them came out of it, many didn’t. But they were all brave in their fight. 

They say time will heal. We hope it will. 

Who knew that someone who was part of every little aspect of your life, who celebrated every little achievement, cried at every little loss with you, would be gone today? Would become a mere statistic in the madness of it all? How do you expect us to forget their joyful face, always laughing or smiling, covered with an oxygen mask, still trying to exude strength for your sake? 

They say time will heal. We hope it will. 

I know eventually things will seem relatively normal again, but the trauma of a life taken too soon will always remain. We can take respite in the fact that when it all ended, their expressionless face earlier marred with pain and suffering, was now at peace, and the gentle smile you’d see one last time, would soon grace the face of another, in a different life somewhere far away.

Being hopeful has become more difficult than ever. But there is strength in solidarity. We cannot say that we know what you have gone through but can understand the trauma, the grief, the helplessness and the sense of resignation. 

They say time will heal. Let’s make it. For their sake. 

Authored by Radhika Sethi & Nandini Sethi who lost their beloved Daadu on 1st June 2021.