At 93, Kerala man beats Covid-19; family shares secret behind his recovery

Pathanamthitta: It’s being dubbed as a miracle. A 93-year-old from Pathanamthitta district in Kerala recovered after contracting the deadly coronavirus disease Covid-19.

Thomas Abraham and his 88-year-old wife Mariyamma have been fully cured after days of life-and-death battle against the deadly virus which they contracted from their son, daughter-in-law and grandson who returned from Italy last month.

The secret behind their recovery seems to be the healthy lifestyle they have been leading, said Rijo Moncy, their grandson. He said Thomas, a farmer in Ranni sub-division of Pathanamthitta district, is a very healthy person being a teetotaller and non-smoker. “Even without going to the gym, he had a six-pack body.”

Abraham loves Pazhankanji, Kerala’s own super food made of rice gruel, and tapioca or jackfruit snacks. And that’s what he insisted on eating while confined in the isolation ward of the Kottayam Medical College Hospital. Coronavirus is known to be especially deadly for elderly people.

“It’s a miracle that they survived the pandemic and the doctors and the health officials have put in their all efforts to save them,” said Rijo who works in Italy in the radiology field.

He and his parents, who also have been living in Italy for many years, praised the state government.

“We were planning to come to Kerala in August but advanced the journey as my grandfather insisted that we should visit him soon. However, now we feel that it was a blessing or else we would have been in Italy right now,” Rijo said.

Italy is the hardest hit country in the world with more than 11,500 fatalities and over 1,00,000 infections, as per the latest reports.

The couple have three children, seven grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. Besides his parents and grandparents, Rijo’s sister and brother-in-law and his father’s elder brother were among those infected by the virus in the family.

“Grandparents had age related complications. But the nurses and the doctors of Kottayam Medical College considered them as their own family and took care of them. We are really thankful to the government, health minister and the chief minister for the care we got,” Rijo said.

Rijo’s sister and brother-in-law, both nurses, had arrived from Italy eight months ago.

Along with the seven-member team of doctors who led the treatment, 40 medical staff including 25 nurses actively took part in various stages of treatment.