SUM Doctors & Staff Help COVID-Afflicted Odia Patient Get Fresh Lease Of Life

Bhubaneswar: Doctors and support staff of Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital worked tirelessly to help a COVID-19 patient recover after he slipped into neurological paralysis.

The 45-year-old Arata Sethi, who was admitted to SUM COVID Hospital on May 11 at the peak of the second wave of the pandemic in a serious condition, was discharged after nearly four months of treatment in the hospital.

After recovering from COVID and testing negative, Sethi was found to have developed nuerological paralysis and shifted to Neuro ICU of IMS and SUM Hospital under the care of Dr Ishwar Behera — and Prof. Chandan Das.

While Dr Behera is head of Neuro Critical Care department, Prof. Das is a medicine specialist.

Dr Behera said that Sethi was diagnosed with post-COVID pulmonary fibrosis and quadriparesis (muscle weakness in all four limbs) and had to be put on ventilator.

“It was a very difficult case… We had to do a tracheostomy on him to facilitate breathing but it was truly a hopeless case,” Dr Behera informed, adding that the patient began to turn the corner slowly.

“Continuous monitoring and treatment helped Sethi recover, though he was still suffering from effects of paralysis. He was discharged from the hospital after nearly four months though he would require care and physiotherapy at home,” Dr Behera stated.

Prof. Pusparaj Samantasinhar, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, felt it was a “huge achievement” for the hospital.

“The patient was in a precarious condition with badly damaged lungs. It is nothing short of a miracle,” he said.