Some People put more pressure on me than the Virus Did!
By Udeni Saman Kumara-Mar 26 2020Sri Lanka's first COVID-19 patient, Jayantha Ranasinghe was discharged from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (IDH) recently and returned home. He was saved at a time when nearly 20,000 COVID-19 patients around the world have succumbed to the virus.
In an interview, he describes how he came into contact with the deadly virus and how the medical staff at IDH saved his life. He also described the difficulties his family underwent once he was identified as the first
Sri Lankan coronavirus patient.
Following are excerpts:
Did you set up residence at Mattegoda recently?A: No. We are the original dwellers here. My father, grandfather and other relations are the original residents of Mattegoda.
Where did you study?A: At Thurston College.
Is tourist guide lecturer job your first profession?A: No. I joined the Police Department after fisnishing school and worked in Ampara and Batticaloa in the Eastern Province during the war. I served in special combat platoons also.
You have a son and a daughter.A: Yes. After the service in the Police Department, I migrated to Italy and got married there. Both my son and daughter were born in Italy.
Why did you decide to return to Sri Lanka?A: I decided to return to Sri Lanka when my daughter was four years old because I did not want to bring up my kids in Italy. I returned after 14 years of life in Italy.
Did you become a tour guide after that?A: Yes. I'm a licenced Italian language tour guide lecturer. I own a van and a car. I am a chauffeur guide and serve only Italian tourists.
When did you tour with a group of Italian tourists before you were tested positive for Covid-19?A: That group was not one team. I provided services to three groups back- to-back from 10 to 14 February, 25 February to 1, 3 and 8 March. Usually, one team travels six days in Sri Lanka and goes to the Maldives. I have to serve them from the airport and go back to the airport.
Do you have any idea from which team you contracted Covid-19?A: I remember that there was one person who was ill in the team before the last group. However, that person did not complain about a sore throat and respiratory difficulty. That person complained only about pain in the pelvis.
What areas in the country did you visit with them?A: We directly went to Dambulla and stayed at Amaya Lake for three days. On the second day, we climbed Sigiriya. On the third day, we went to Polonnaruwa. Guests ride bicycles. I travel in the van and explain it to them. After that, we visited Dambulla ancient temple and from there to Kandy. They returned to the airport from there.
Were you healthy until you finished all three tours?A: I was ill on the last trip, although I was fit in the first two trips.
Were you not aware that Covid-19 was spreading in Italy when these tourists visited Sri Lanka?A: I was not afraid because they were checked at the airport. However, I do not know the way they were tested. Not only me, the other guides also worked with tourists in the same way.
When did you start feeling sick?A: I have tonsillitis usually, and when I drive, I wrap my neck with a shawl. That day, I forgot to do so. When I returned from Sigiriya to Amaya Lake, I had a sore throat. However, I thought it was because I forgot to wrap my neck.
When I visited the dispensary, the doctor checked my throat and said that I had tonsilitis and prescribed some antibiotics.
Were you relieved?A: I took them to Dambulla temple and came to Kandy as usual. I did not feel well enough. I started to suffer from a fever when I was in Kandy. I bought the antibiotics prescribed by the doctor from a pharmacy and used. However, it did not cure me. Since I felt very sick, I called the tour company and asked them to send a driver and an Italian speaking guide so that I could admit myself to hospital. They said they had no one to send and asked me to finish the tour.
What happened then?A: I was sick and had a high fever, but I could not drop them on the way. Their flight was postponed to the evening, and that put me in more trouble. I had only my morale and finished the tour after dropping them at the airport.
Did the tourists know that you were ill?A: Yes. They knew I was suffering from fever. They thanked me for not dropping them on the way, even though I was sick. I had associated Italians for 14 years. In Sri Lanka, I had been providing guide services to Italians for 20 years. I could not desert them. That was why I did not admitted in hospital. I wanted to complete my job somehow.
Did you return home directly after that?A: I do not remember how I came. I entered the expressway from Katunayake and came home via Kottawa within 45 minutes. I asked my wife to take the car out and collapsed on the seat after I parked the van. Then we visited our family doctor. He asked me if I had toured with an Italian group. I did not even get down from the car. He understood the situation and urged my wife to take me directly to IDH. I was at the departure gate of the airport at 4:30 p.m. and then at IDH at 6:30 p.m. My son travelled on the front seat of the car while my wife drove me there.
What happened at the hospital?A: I was provided with a separate room with all the facilities such as an attached bathroom. They understood I was a risky patient and came near me with protective suits. When I felt a difficulty in breathing, I was given oxygen.
Did they inform you that you had contracted COVID-19 and that you were the first person to do so in Sri Lanka?A: I was admitted on 8 March. The 9th was a full moon day, and I was informed in the morning of 10th that I was found positive for COVID-19. I was sent to the upper floor on the same night.
What did you feel then?A: I felt the fear of death. I am a devoted Buddhist who observes the precepts at Kirivehera temple in Kataragama on every full moon day. I had even booked the bus to go there on that full moon day also. I believed that I would be saved.
What are the symptoms of COVID-19?A: There was a difficulty in breathing. If I wanted to get down from the bed, I had to sit on the bed before I stood. Then I had to walk very slowly to the toilet. It was very difficult to breathe. Also, it was difficult to swallow anything. The entire body was stiff. My x-ray was taken after putting me on oxygen. So, many things were done to me. I was semi-conscious.
When did you start feeling better?A: With medication, I began to feel conscious. I stopped panting. Specialist doctor Eranga Narangoda is like a God. He even brought me porridge from home. The hospital gave me all the facilities. After a few days, I came back to normalcy. I must thank the President, Prime Minister, Minister of Health, Commander of the Army and all. Everything was ready when the first COVID-19 patient was found.
What was the situation your wife, son and daughter faced when you were in IDH?A: Ministries of Health and Defence looked into the needs of my family. The Medical Officer of Health sent Public Health Inspectors to my house and attended to the requirements. If security was not provided, our home could have been stoned. You know that there are strange persons in our country. Some people put more pressure on me than the disease itself!
How did you get the news?
A: When I felt better, I called home. My wife told me about that.
Did you know that there was trouble at Ananda College because of your son?A: Yes. However, the principal spoke on our behalf.
Were you not under pressure because of these problems?
A: No. I could bear all of that. I must mention that a youth found out my number and called me. They did not know me. They had links with a Buddhist Monk called Weerasuriyakande Palitha Dhamma Thera and put me in touch with him. The Thera instructed me to meditate. Meditation helped me to improve. Hela Osu Institute of Malabe sent me Ayurvedic herbal porrige. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country that helps other people. Hospital Director Asitha Rathnayaka and Specialist Eranga Narangoda are so committed and their words built up my morale.
I take this opportunity to thank the staff of IDH, officials of Kahathuduwa MOH, Tour Guides Association and Tour Guide Regulatory Institute.
What is the message you have to give to the country regarding COVID-19?
A: If anyone has symptoms, do not hide and immediately go to a government hospital. They will help you and provide you with all the facilities. I noticed that when doctors moved away from me and removed the protective suit, they were sweating all over. All of these protective suits are discarded. A lot of money is spent on protective suits and medicine.
Did you get any information about the group of tourists that you guided?
A: No. I was not in a condition to look for them when I was in hospital.
How long must you self-quarantine at home?
A: I have to stay home for 21 more days.
What did your wife, son and daughter tell you on your return home?
A: They are happy that I was saved from this fatal disease.
As a person who lived in Italy, how do you see the health system of that country in the context of about 700 Covid-19 patients dying daily?
A: Their medical technology is more advanced than ours. Both my kids were born in hospitals there. The problem was that people did not bother about medical advice. No one wore masks when they went out. I think they put themselves at the risk of COVID-19.
