Kashmir’s first doctor infected by Covid-19 anxious to return to work

Dr Monga suspects that he contracted Covid-19 from a patient during a 24-hour shift at the emergency of Medical College spread over April 13 and 14.

For 43-year-old Dr Javid Iqbal Monga, the most depressing and shocking news of his life came when he tested positive for coronavirus on April 19.

He became Kashmir’s first doctor and frontline worker to test positive for the virus. Authorities promptly put him and his family in quarantine at the Medical College itself and began efforts to trace all his contacts.

Fortunately, Dr Monga had already taken enough precautions as he was aware about consequences of the virus and had seen from close quarters the death of his colleagues in Saudi Arabia due to SARS while they were on duty in the city of Taif, where the doctor had spent around two decades of his life.

“I had a sore throat for a couple of days before testing positive. I thought that since I am allergic to certain things it could be the fallout of that only. Once I was declared Covid positive, I started thinking where from I could have got this deadly disease.”

Dr Monga suspects that he contracted Covid-19 from a patient during a 24-hour shift at the emergency of Medical College spread over April 13 and 14.

“I examined many patients. I used to spend good time with my patients, especially the sick ones. It was an old man who was very sick who came to the hospital in the middle of night. I spent two hours with him and performed his intubation. But despite my efforts he passed away and it’s possible that I got the virus from him.’’

Dr Monga and his wife were initially shifted to a local hotel just 100 hundred meters away from the hospital. However, after spending a few hours inside the hotel in a comfortable room while getting treatment according to protocol for his chills and throat infection, some local residents raised objections for his stay in the hotel.

“I was shifted to the hospital’s isolation room during the night as my fever was shooting up and my wife too had chills and was feeling unwell. My only worry was about my young daughter and son. Next day, my wife’s report also came positive which put more stress on me and my 14- year-old daughter was also coughing. Though I was getting good treatment at Medical College but my condition wasn’t getting any better and I was in panic as I knew a lot more about this disease. Finally, I asked hospital administration to shift me to SKIMS.’’

For the doctor and his wife the first good news came when their daughter tested negative. “There was congestion in my chest and fever was not subsiding. I tried to maintain extra calm but things were going from bad to worse with every passing hour. At times i thought I had developed pneumonia which is an indication of the severity of the viral load and I knew the consequences could be far worse.”

Slowly efforts of doctors and his own resilience started showing impact and on April 28 his fever started to subside. “My wife got better within days as her viral load was low and had mild symptoms. And finally I was on path to recovery.’’

Dr Monga was all praise for his colleagues in Baramulla and Srinagar. “My HoD, Nisar Ahmed Khan, Dr Yasir Bashir Asst Prof medicine at GMC Baramulla, Dr Afshan, consultant medicine, Dr Mushtaq Professor Medicine and Dr Zubair, Dr Farooq, Dr Mushtaq and senior resident Dr Ishrat and Dr Abdul Waheed Mir, Associate professor of ICU SKIMS who remained with me almost all the time and made me comfortable,’’ he said.

The doctor is now staying at his home in Baramulla. “I used to maintain extra caution so that my children didn’t get this disease and stayed away from my aged parents,’’ he said, adding that since he has passed through this disease, now he wants to help to make people aware about this disease.

He expects to return to work around May 20.

“I am eager to join my duties back and could be serving my people soon.’’

A graduate of the Medical College Srinagar, Dr Monga served in Kashmir for a couple of years before moving to Saudi Arabia where he worked at premier institutions. He also worked in Mecca city inside Grand Mosque Al-Haram during Hajj for one month for consecutive ten years which helped him to gain exposure and experience in critical care medicine especially in emergency situations.

“I had left Kashmir because there was no job at that time but to serve my people was always my dream. Finally when the hospital in my home town was declared as Medical College, I applied for a job and got it. I had a well-paid job at Taif city which I left even took a huge salary cut to work at my native place.’’

After beating the virus, Dr Monga said his commitment towards his patients will be stronger. ‘’The only thing which pained me was when I was told by some colleagues that few people had objected to my stay in the hotel which was meant for the purpose. Tomorrow, God forbid, if some of them will have any disease I will be the first person to help them,” he said adding that the disease has taught him many lessons and people who are afflicted by it should face it strongly.

“We can beat this disease only if we keep calm and face it strongly.’’