Mother and son recuperate side by side from Covid-19
She was feeling down after testing positive for Covid-19.
But the news that her son will be her roommate as she recuperated at D'Resort @ Downtown East made Mrs Pandya a little happier.
The Singaporean housewife in her 50s, who was the first in her family to test positive for Covid-19 on March 29, was moved to D'Resort after being isolated at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital for seven days.
Her son, Mr Shivam Pandya, a third-year chemical engineering student from the National University of Singapore, tested positive on April 8. He had been recalled from his overseas exchange programme at the University of Waterloo in Canada on March 24.
After four days at Singapore General Hospital, Mr Shivam was moved to Singapore Expo for 20 days and to D'Resort when he was symptom-free.
His mother immediately requested he be roomed with her as she had not seen her son for 34 days.
Mrs Pandya said: "It was a miracle. I was so happy my son was coming that my breathlessness was gone."
When they met, no hugging was allowed, but she was so happy she cried.
While Mr Shivam was discharged on May 11, Mrs Pandya had to wait till last Saturday to be discharged.
They had spent 11 days together.
Mr Shivam said: "Staying with my mother was one of the positive takeaways from this experience.
"It was a good opportunity to spend time with my mum since I was away in Canada, and I really did miss her a lot."
Mr Shivam also told his mother about his stay at Singapore Expo and the friends he made there, including foreign workers who still kept in touch with him.
She talked about her previous roommate, a Filipina helper, who would pray and fast for her 78-year-old employer who was in the intensive care unit.
Mrs Pandya said she developed breathlessness when she was alone in the room after her previous roommate at D'Resort left.
MUSTAFA CENTRE
She said she visited Mustafa Centre on March 25 and developed a dry cough and a fever two days later.
Her husband then tested positive on March 30, followed by their daughter the next day.
Mrs Pandya was in the isolation ward at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital till April 6 and moved to D'Resort when she did not show any symptoms.
All her family members have since fully recovered.
On seeing her family struck down by the virus, Mrs Pandya said: "I prayed and asked for a miracle."
As his mother returned home on Saturday, Mr Shivam said: "I was gutted that my mum was still there. (Seeing her home), it is such a relief and I am glad to be reunited."
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