Guwahati: Her age may have posed a challenge but 100-year-old Mai Handique’s battle against COVID-19 was won by her positivity. She managed to beat the COVID-19 virus with great positivity, doctors said Thursday.
Handique is Assam’s oldest COVID-19 patient. She was discharged from the Mahendra Mohan Chowdhury Hospital (MMCH) here Wednesday, they said. She is resident of the ‘Mothers’ Old Age Home’ here. Handique was admitted to the hospital 10 days ago after testing COVID-19 positive.
The doctors and nurses who were treating Handique held a small celebration before she was discharged. Handique, who was beaming with excitement, joined the party singing several Assamese songs. Called Aita (grandma) by all at the hospital, Hanique told reporters that she enjoyed her stay and the food.
“We were given fish or meat on most of the days while egg and banana were given daily. We were also ‘given ‘ruti-bhaji’ (chappatis and vegetables) which I enjoyed the most,” she said.
The centurion also thanked all those who treated her. “The girls (nurses) and the doctors’ took very good care of me,” Handique said.
Handique also had a special word of praise for Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. “He is doing very hard work for all of us. I bless him to continue to help people who are suffering from this disease.”
Sarma, too, wished her on the recovery. “Steely resolve of 100-year old Mai Handique is monumental. With brilliant support of doctors at MMCH, she defeated coronavirus. She gave us a lesson in having the right will power,” he said.
A doctor treating Handique said, “Initially, we were worried due to her age. She also has hypertension, but she was always cheerful and in a positive frame of mind.”
Twelve residents of the ‘Mothers’ Old Age Home’ have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and five of them have been discharged so far.
