COVID 19 - Fear of Unknown - My Isolation journey!!!

I have been battling pollen allergies for over 2 weeks with the regular sneezing and coughing, that gets so severe that it keeps me awake the whole night. On one such night I asked my wife to take me to emergency as I could not bear the pain and could hardly take a breath. We arrive at Klinikum Hospital, which is right across from where I live, and went through the regular check of getting my temperature, blood pressure monitored. Upon sharing the symptoms with the nurse, the doctor on duty asked her to hand me a N95 mask and I was informed that I am going to be sent to the lung infection center to get tested for COVID 19.

My wife immediately choked up. She immediately tried to put this in perspective by saying everything will be alright and the test results will be negative, but I could see that she was scared. I started to pace around the outer waiting area of the hospital waiting for the ambulance to take me towards the lung infection center. My thoughts with my kids waiting at home not knowing if I would be able to see them again if my results come positive, as I have been keeping them away the past few days due to my cough and sneezing. Finally the ambulance arrived, and I could hear the nurse assure my wife to be strong, and everything is going to be alright, and I got into the ambulance and made sure not to look at my wife, as I didnt want her to see the fear in my eyes.

Here is where I would like to appreciate and thank the Austrian first responders and the caretakers who show their concern and compassion towards people like myself assuring them of the best outcome and to stay strong and positive. The drive towards the Lung Infection center was never ending, and finally when we arrived, I was asked to wait in the ambulance while the doctors were attending to other patients. What I noticed during the wait how the doctors and nurses attended to the elderly and took their time explaining the procedure and making sure they made the patients comfortable while administering the tests. While I was waiting tons of thoughts went thru my mind as I could not stop thinking about my girls and my wife, god forbid I did not make it thru this ordeal. Finally, I could hear my name being called and a young doctor and a nurse attended to me. The doctor went about explaining the procedure and the pain I might go thru, but also assured me by saying that he was aware of my recent Nasal Deviation surgery and that he would be gentle with the procedure. I should mention here that the procedure was painful, but then I realized if a healthy person like myself can feel the pain, how would people who are elderly and vulnerable feel, hence I forced myself to forget about the pain. I was told upon completion that I will have my results in a day or so, and I should be isolated till the results are made available.

I went into isolation awaiting the results, next day- no results, the following day -no results, this went on for several days as the weekend also came up. My wife started making calls on Monday to find out the results, as the fear of unknown was taking an emotional toll on her and myself, and she reached out to the office of the COVID 19 team in Vienna, and spoke to the lady who was in charge. She shared our dilemma with her and as per my wife, the lady took her time explaining the process and gave the number and name of the person responsible in Klagenfurt who can help in getting the results. Later that day after reaching out to the concerned officials in Klagenfurt and informing them of the delay in results, my wife was assured that someone from the Lung Infection Center will reach out soon with the results, and a few minutes later my wife received the call back. She was informed that my results were negative and that I have nothing to worry, I could hear my wife and the girls breakout in jubilation and finally I was able to hold my girls after avoiding them for days for their own safety. The most painful experience throughout my isolation was being away from my girls.

During the isolation I had numerous calls and messages inquiring about my well-being, and the support they offered with their prayers and thoughts. I am so thankful to all those dear friends and family members, who regularly kept in touch.

I would like to thank the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and his ministers for taking the necessary steps at an early stage to secure the borders, and take the precautions and implementing them to keep the citizens safe and healthy, while working on various ways to fight the pandemic via tests, and above all offerings workers, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders financial support to continue with their life while adhering to the stay at home orders.

I took the opportunity of being in isolation to revisit the time and effort I was putting into my job and initiatives while I was either travelling or working late hours even when back at home. I decided it was about time that I keep family first, spend more time with them while focusing my professional efforts by creating global strategic alliances. I am thankful to have worked with an amazing company such as Crayon and have learnt much during this time. Now, working closer to home, I will continue supporting and nurturing contacts, startups, established companies, and entrepreneurs. I have some amazing friends and mentors, an awesome network of contacts in different regions, That can offer assistance in promoting their products and services and for those that are open to reaching out to new regions I am able to partner, explore and open possibilities.

This world is like a mountain. Your echo depends on you. If you scream good things, the world will give it back. If you scream bad things, the world will give it back. Even if someone says badly about you, speak well about him. Change your heart to change the world.

~ Shams Tabrizi