Dr Neikhrielie Khimiao
COVID-19 survivor recounts road to recovery
Atono Tsükrü Kense
Kohima | May 19
For a person who survived COVID-19, leaving the hospital after treatment was only the beginning of getting back to health, as he recounted the journey from overcoming the disease to full recovery.
Dr Neikhrielie Khimiao’s recovery story is an inspiration for a ‘second chance’ at life, as he now heads the State Directorate of Health & Family Welfare as the Principal Director with a better understanding of the gravity of the disease.
Dr Khimiao tested positive for COVID-19 in the month of November 2020 and recalled the ordeal as a ‘horrifying experience’. Along with him, his wife and two children contracted the virus, all of whom fortunately, had mild cases of the virus and were asymptomatic. They eventually recovered after home isolation with self discipline and care.
The experience
“There was a time when I felt and thought that I would not be able to stand the virus” recalled Dr Neikhrielie Khimiao in a tete-a-tete with The Morung Express. He was hospitalised due to the severity of the virus attack which, took him 45 days to recover, and two months to fully regain his health.
As soon as his test result returned positive, he said “I immediately subjected all my family members for testing and to go for self isolation at home” and the results came positive for three members while two were tested negative.
Unfortunately, Dr Khimiao experienced all the symptoms of a classic case of COVID-19 such as throat irritation, on and off high fever, chills, loss of taste, smell, headache, body ache, joint pain, loss of appetite and also breathlessness leading him to hospitalisation for oxygen support therapy.
The breathlessness was first felt when Dr Khimiao was ascending the stairs one day. He recalled that he had to descend as he was struggling to breathe, after which, he immediately opted for being admitted in the hospital.
“Though my wife tested positive for COVID-19, it was her, along with the nurses and doctors who attended to me during my hospitalisation,” said Dr Khimiao.
The recovery
All was not well even after being released from the hospital, he recalled. “Even after recovery, with slight exertion you still have the breathlessness,” he said.
“And the weakness was unexplainable which became very pronounced to the extent that even to get up from the bed, to sit or stand, you lose all your energy,” he shared, adding that his hands just dropped down on their own whenever he tried to lean against the wall for support.
However, day by day, it gets better, said Dr Khimiao and added “after a period of two months, my blood saturation became normal and my breathlessness totally disappeared.”
Words of advice
As the State is battling the second wave of the virus today, Dr Khimiao advised people to be guarded against wrong information and rampant passing of unverified news and messages in the social media platforms.
“It is best that we all remain guarded against any propaganda which may demoralise the population and may lead to social unrest,” opined Dr Khimiao, adding that one should rather sincerely follow the COVID-19 safety protocols at all times.
He also appealed the people against stigmatisation and discrimination of health workers stating that, “By virtue of being in the profession, they know how best to look after themselves after treating a patient, as all safety precautions are being taken inside a hospital.”
