There was a Harry Potter marathon on DStv, which is why on the night we discovered my husband, Strini, had tested positive for the dreaded “rona”, my mind spiralled to the dark arts and the ultimate fight between fear and courage. Muggles will recall the scene — Harry’s boggart in the Prisoner of Azkaban turned out to be a dementor, meaning the shape-shifting creature depicting his greatest fear was fear itself.
Which got me thinking, to sidetrack myself from the palpitations, about the mental aspects of the pandemic and whether, despite the ubiquitous nature of the virus, there was any correlation with mindset and the pandemic’s discerning, fatal clutches.
You see, as the famous boy wizard discovered, while fear can be crippling, debilitating and overwhelming, that can only happen if you give it power. And as studies have shown, mentally this pandemic can be crippling.
This is not a dig at the very real symptoms — extreme flu-like ones such as sore throats, body pains, chills and sweats that eventually led my whole family to become Covid-19 statistics. On June 14 it was my husband and on June 16, our two sons, Yastri, 20, Rasen, 17 and in matric, and me.
Later came the nausea, diarrhoea and vice-grip on the chest, which, mercifully, the boys escaped. Subashni Naidoo’s ever dependable husband, Dr Kams Govender, sorted out Strini in two ticks after he tested positive.
Synchronicity, however, lined our path, with science in the form of another doctor who, after a tele consult and in-person visit during which he listened to crackles on our chests, put us on aggressive treatment to rule out hospitalisation. His pragmatic approach, bedside manner, old-school doc access and technological efficiency were as reassuring as a jab in the bum. Aside: the doctor’s second name, that of the Hindu God associated with protection, compassion and care, still tickles me.
But back to the dark arts. We all need a Professor Remus Lupin to remind us not to allow fear to overpower us — it’s part of life, but only as far as we allow it to be. To thwart its might and grant him courage, a powerful memory of his parents was enough for Harry Potter to overcome it.
It was inevitable that all four of us would test positive and we all handled it in different ways, processing the fear through rest, reading, bonding, scrolling, drooling over home renovations, Mexican holiday home purchases and creating new lockdown memories.
We acknowledged our fears, which bubbled and surfaced now and then, but Uber deliveries of faith, love, connectedness, positive energy, care, compassion, kindness, light and love carried us forward and gave us courage.
From dishes of fragrantly spiced marindasulu chicken soup and curry garnished with garlic and dhania to pickles, rasam, lagan, dosas, arpors, briyanis, Goundens bunnies, Wicked doughnuts, samp and mutton, snacks, hot wings, fruits, vegetables, Gorimas spices, pasta and seafood dishes, our front gate was pumping with drive-by drop-offs, shout-outs and deliveries.
The virus has penetrated the fault lines of every facet of all our lives, cutting swathes of death, destruction, poverty and loss in its almost surreal quest. That is an unassailable truth. Our truth is that we are filled with gratitude for all those who stepped in and lent us their courage, kindness and compassion as we navigated this journey.
Social media pinged with recipes, offers to fetch medication or Covid-19 packs, daily doses of blessings, prayer and humour, and check-in calls and messages virtually 24/7.
The boys got the all clear — back to school and back to flexing those muscles for the gains.
Strini and I have almost turned the corner, taking the breathless moments in our stride, soaking up the medically enforced rest to give our lungs room to breathe again. The incredible bouts of fatigue, shakes, brain fog, headaches, joint pains and blurred vision are a work in progress, but in good time. Blowing bubbles in water, balloons and breathing exercises for the win!
The word corona means crown — the scientists who discovered it thought the virus looked like the bright crown-like ring of gasses surrounding the sun that is visible during a solar eclipse. Dark versus light. Irony much.
The virus has penetrated the fault lines of every facet of all our lives, cutting swathes of death, destruction, poverty and loss in its almost surreal quest. That is an unassailable truth.
Our truth is that we are filled with gratitude for all those who stepped in and lent us their courage, kindness and compassion as we navigated this journey.
As more of us become statistics, let’s do more of that.
Yasantha Naidoo is Durban bureau chief for the Sunday Times.
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