Archives: Employee Stories

I wish nobody ever contracts this disease, given that is so painful, and the experience emotionally draining.

My father was the one who first contracted coronavirus on 18 th April 2021, despite all the safety measures. At that time, I was with my wife and son in Chennai while my parents were living in Pune. I had just bought my new car, and we were happily planning for a family vacation when we received my father’s COVID report. It took the wind out of my sails as I began to fear the worst that could happen. Though it was not serious, the doctor advised him to be admitted to the hospital as he had many other health issues which could complicate his condition. The second wave of COVID was at its peak at the time, and it would take weeks to get admitted to a hospital. Using all the influence and connections I could muster, he was admitted within a couple of days, but I could not reach Pune as the operating airlines had stringent norms of RT-PCR test reports, which would take several days to get processed.

It was a challenging time for all of us. I had just moved to Chennai with my family, and we hadn’t settled yet. I could not leave them in Chennai, nor could I take them to Pune due to the surging COVID cases in the city. So, I drove down to Hyderabad to drop them and headed straight to the hospital in Pune, where my father was admitted. Within two weeks, my father’s condition started deteriorating, and he was transferred to the ICU, where he was put on ventilator support. It was a big challenge for us to arrange the Remdesvir injection for my father’s treatment, and we had to order its special consignment from Mumbai by car.

However, the worst was not over yet. Soon after, I too got infected with COVID. To everyone’s surprise, my condition was deteriorating much faster than that of my father. I had difficulty in breathing even with a regular oxygen mask. My wife and son were still in Hyderabad, but my mother decided to call them to Pune after I got infected. I had to be moved to the ICU. There was no stock of Remdesvir in the hospital, and my wife had to call my friend, who through his sources, arranged four doses of Remdesvir for me. The doctors had explained to me that COVID spreads in our body faster under stress. I was under tremendous stress due to my father’s condition, and hence the virus spread rapidly in my body. Those days now seem blurred – I was not fully conscious all the time. My family and cousins, along with some colleagues from Thermax, helped me through my worst phase. They kept on telling me only positive things throughout my stay at the hospital to alleviate my stress.

The bigger battle to fight was the mental struggle. Sometimes, I used to glance out of the open window from my bed and think to myself that it might be the last time I would see it.

There were a lot of complications with my father’s kidney failures, blood transfusion, but I was never informed about this until I was discharged. When I finally got discharged on 15 th May 2021, they sent me home directly from the ICU as there were no general beds available at the hospital.

The key motivation during my hospitalisation was that I had to get better to take care of my father, who was hospitalised for a month. Unfortunately, he succumbed to the disease despite giving it a tough fight at his age. Just three days after I got discharged, he passed away. It came as a shock to lose him so suddenly. I would describe it as the worst time of my life. He had his angioplasty done two years ago, and due to his age and various health factors like diabetes, it had been a very difficult time for him. But we never came to know how he contracted COVID. My mother was always with him, but miraculously, she did not contract the infection.

When I was in the ICU, some of my known customers of Thermax from all around the globe sent me ‘get well’ messages. I cannot express the happiness and mental support their messages gave me. I have been a part of the Thermax family for more than 15 years and many people, even ex-colleagues, enquired about my health. They were a support system to me that helped me move away from negativity and focus on the positive things in life. In COVID, you are all alone – isolated from even your loved ones. Hence, I believe the emotional support someone gets at this time plays a big part in recovery.

My father’s loss was the worst thing to happen to me and my family. My seniors, Suresh Kumar (Function Head-Global Technical Services, Cooling), B. Venkatesh (SBU Head, Absorption Cooling) and my colleagues at Thermax supported me at a time when I needed it the most. They ensured that I got the time to heal physically as well as mentally. After all my father’s last rites were completed, I decided to join the office, to move on even if it was very difficult.

COVID should not be taken lightly. I contracted COVID even though I took every possible precaution to avoid it. I have seen families being devastated by the virus where the child survives while the parents don’t. COVID is unforgiving, and it takes just a minor slip in precautions for the virus to enter your body. I still feel that my body is not the same as before having COVID. I am fully vaccinated, but I always wear a mask whenever I go outside. COVID is not over yet in India, and it is still deadly. It is up to us to protect ourselves from this virus.

Precaution is the only cure!

– Amol Garbhe
Head – International Services, Absorption Cooling – Cooling & Heating Division

It was May 2021 – the second wave of COVID was at its peak in Maharashtra and so in the city of Pune. I, like everyone else, would read the newspaper, watch news that informed about the shortage of beds in hospitals, insufficient oxygen cylinders, Remdesivir injections, etc., and would often ponder about the plight of these people struggling to support their near and dear ones. But as life would have it, I suddenly found myself in a similar situation!

I believe in God, and COVID showed how helpless we are against nature. How we got the deadly virus remains a mystery to all of us. We hardly stepped out of the house, and it was only me and my wife, Smita, who were going out. My mother had a mild fever when I took her for the routine checkup, and the doctors suggested doing an RT-PCR test for COVID, which turned out to be positive. It was when her oxygen level started falling that I took her to the Government COVID centre at Shivajinagar, as there were no beds available in the hospital where we first visited. My mother's oxygen level was around 60, so they immediately admitted her. Thereafter, other members of my family also started showing symptoms of COVID. So, I got all of them tested, and everyone was reported positive. The infection in the case of my father and wife was very mild, and home quarantine was advised.

I and my elder daughter, Divya, had high levels of COVID infection and were advised urgent hospitalisation by our family doctor. But finding a bed then was a big challenge. Fortunately, my colleague Sachin Ghadge (Logistics & Shipping Officer, O&M) knew a small hospital and was kind enough to arrange a bed for us. He drove us to the hospital, and we got admitted on 1st May 2021. I and Divya were both admitted to the same ICU ward and in the same room. We spent 8-10 days there, and we knew that we were to be given Remdesvir due to the high level of infection. All my seniors, including Prashant Nagraj (Head- Operations, O&M), Kirtiraj Jilkar (Vice President – Power O&M), and other colleagues, tried hard to arrange a Remdesvir injection for us. This was at a time when there was an acute shortage of the injection across the country. The first dose of Remdesvir was arranged by Chairperson Meher Pudumjee, while the other doses were arranged by my colleagues.

Adversities, indeed, help reveal our hidden potential. Throughout this course of time, my wife was a planner in action – she took care of managing all consultations with doctors, coordinating with lab technicians while learning to handle online appointments and transactions, as was the norm of the day. She has played a very dynamic role and was one of the key reasons for my recovery. She came out of the disease stronger than me.

It was very taxing emotionally to not be able to see or meet my family members – I could not see my mother through her stay at the hospital. We didn't know what was happening, and it was traumatic for all of us. The hospital was kind enough to provide daily updates of my mother's health to my father. We couldn't ask anyone to help us carry food to my mother, lest that person gets infected. Yet, in such a situation, some of our family friends and the hospital security guards helped us to deliver the essentials, for which I am very grateful. This has made us realise that God was supreme and there were things that even money couldn't buy.

My elder daughter lay in pain beside me, but all I could do was offer words of encouragement that everything would be all right. I felt helpless and scared of our situation. She couldn't give her online exams and for the first time in her life, had a backlog. Each one of us had gone through a lot of suffering. However, my father was very strong – even at 85 years, he did regular yoga and morning walks and defeated the virus in four days, while I, being 49 years old, suffered from a severe COVID.

After about 10 days, our infection levels went down, and we were discharged home. Unfortunately, my mother’s health deteriorated even after receiving Remdesvir and couldn’t make it back home. I couldn’t even see her for the last time. The day we went home was the same day she breathed her last! Suddenly, a member of my family – with whom I had spent my life was gone. It left a deep emotional scar on me. After her demise, my colleagues at Thermax also helped with the funeral as the body was not handed over in COVID-related deaths.

Thermax did everything as a family for me. I feel very much obligated for the support extended in such tough times. Sunil Bhosale, Senior Executive, Healthcare and Dr. Suhas Kanetkar, Company Medical Officer (CMO) at Thermax, continually monitored my progress by being in touch with the doctor at the hospital. I would like to mention and thank Rajendra Namdeo, another colleague at Thermax, who had been immensely helpful during that time – he used to visit my house every day in the morning to collect my food and deliver it to the hospital, which was a good 20 km ride! He was like a younger brother who helped me tremendously during this period. Nutan Kallur (Group HR Head – Power) was in constant touch with my wife, who was also in home quarantine. My team members – Anurag Chincholkar (Head-Sales, O&M), Anand Singh (Team Leads / Technical Lead-Vendor Management, O&M), Vasudeva Kavuri (Lead Engineer-Electrical, O&M) supported me greatly.

From the nurses at the hospital to the ambulance drivers, everyone supported by motivating us regularly to defeat the disease. I salute the COVID warriors because of whom I could safely recover from COVID.

COVID is a game of patience and tolerance- the treatments work slowly. There are some side effects of Remdesvir, but I am doing yoga and pranayamas to recover my health as much as I can. With a proper diet, sleep and exercise, I believe one can recover from the after-effects of COVID.

Taking utmost safety measures and our vaccine doses are equally important in our fight against this unknown pathogen. No one knows when the virus will knock at someone's door!

– Rajeev Shrivastava
Head-Procurement, Operations and Maintenance

It was on 6th May 2021 that I received my COVID positive report. I was at Roha, Raigad, Maharashtra, where I work as a Station Manager, O&M at Sudarshan Chemicals plant. At that time, half of my team members were also suffering from COVID. Most of us were in home or company isolation, but since I started facing trouble in breathing, I had to get admitted to a hospital in Pune. I am immensely thankful to Gajendra Bisen, safety officer, and managers at the customer site for arranging an ambulance for me.

After admission to the hospital, I assumed that I would recover and be discharged very soon, but destiny had other plans. The stay continued for the next 42 days as 90% of my lungs were infected. My survival chance was only 1%! After three days in the hospital, following breathlessness, the doctors decided to shift me to the ICU.

My wife, Preeti, received a call from the hospital reception, informing her about my health condition. It was an extremely shocking and difficult situation for her to deal with. With no second thought in mind, she stepped out of the house with our 7-year old daughter to come to Pune. She reached the hospital at 7:00 pm. My daughter, Tanishi was forced to sit alone in the rain outside the hospital while my wife was arranging for my medicines. She was new to the city and didn’t know anyone here. In such a situation, it was my colleague, Ameet Nampalliwar, (Deputy Station Manager, O&M, Sudarshan Chemicals, Roha) also a COVID survivor, who supported her. Nutan Kallur (Group HR Head – Power), Maya Masulkar (HR Administrator – Power&TIL – O&M) had arranged for their stay in the Thermax guest house.

On one of the dreadful nights in the ICU, around 2:30 am, my oxygen level dropped suddenly, and I fell unconscious. The ICU staff struggled to change my ventilator to increase my oxygen level. I felt that it could be my last night, but after a lot of efforts by the staff and with the blessings of God, I started breathing again!

After a few days, when Preeti came to meet me in the ICU room, I was in a very critical condition. I cannot express the emotions I went through when I saw her at the hospital near me. Her presence gave me the much needed willpower to fight on and hold on to the hope to survive.

On the same weekend, all of a sudden, doctors asked my wife to arrange for the Remdesevir injection for me, but even that proved to be a failed attempt. As a final resort, Itolizumab was suggested. Preeti was informed of all the possible side effects of this drug and was asked to sign a declaration, taking responsibility for the same. She signed it with a heavy heart. The administration of this medicine took close to eight hours. Thereafter, for the next 10 days, my wife was not allowed to see or meet me. She could only watch me through video calls or photos shared by the nurses. I was on RT feeding (providing nutrition when unable to eat through the mouth or are not in a state to swallow the food safely), but I do not remember that time! The time frame felt like a few hours to me. Gradually, my condition bettered, and I was moved to a liquid diet. After almost 38 days, I was moved out of the ICU. Finally, the prayers were answered. It’s because of the blessings from my loved ones that I have survived. I have fought the battle of COVID in the hospital for a total of 42 days; out of which 22 days I was on the ventilator and then on oxygen support.

These testing times brought with them many challenges; some never anticipated situations. In one such instance, the doctor had suggested a high protein liquid meal (chicken and mutton soup) for me when I was on RT feeding. Coming from a Brahmin family and being a vegetarian, it was arduous for us to accept the demand. However, prioritising my health, my wife and brother in law, Pranava Saraswat, visited the meat shop daily and prepared the food for me. I will never forget their sacrifices and efforts.

Indeed, the pandemic has taught us many more life lessons than what we could learn over the course of a lifetime. It also led me to meet some very helpful and wonderful people, the saviours of my life – Dr. Abhishek Karmalkar, who treated me, his juniors- Dr. Kajal Mavani, Dr. Siddesh Randhe, Dr. Swapnil Pansare, brothers Akil and Amal Kalikar who had been very caring and supportive. A simple “Kaisa hai tu,” from Dr. Kajal, and the daily motivation from Dr. Siddhesh, gave me the vigour to tread through this agonising path every day while in the hospital.

Once during the recovery stage, my oxygen level again started dropping drastically. I started shivering and was crying and shouting – “Please help me, brother”. Therein, Amal consoled me, saying, “Nothing will happen; I am here with you”. The ventilator was immediately arranged that normalised my condition. Though the pandemic showed us the worst times, it also reinstated our faith in humanity, thanks to the selfless souls – all the frontline and healthcare workers who have toiled to save lives.

Finally, I was at peace after being discharged from the hospital and heard a lot about the support extended by my team. Sabirali Masu (Project Manager, O&M), Sachin Ghadge (Logistics & Shipping Officer, O&M) visited the hospital several times, Surya Dhar (Manager – Engineering, Operations and Maintenance) always enquired about my health, Nutan Kallur was continuously in touch with my wife to know my condition and arrange for any commercial help required. My site team members took responsibility of the plant in my absence and ensured that it functioned without interruption.

I would like to sincerely thank the Power HR team and O&M’s senior management for supporting me and my family in the most critical time. Thank you Thermax for staying beside me!

– Mayur Saraswat
Station Manager, O&M

I pray to God that no one should ever go through the suffering I went through. I was detected COVID positive on 22 nd June 2020.

In my family, there is my mother, who is 72, my wife, Swati, and son, Piyush. After the lockdown was relaxed intermittently, I often stepped out of the house for groceries and essentials. I guess I must have contracted the infection during one of my visits. As soon as I received the RT-PCR report, I sought advice from Sunil Bhosale, senior executive, Healthcare, Thermax Workmen Medical Trust, and Sanjay Chopde, the trustee. Thereafter, I got in touch with Dr. Varsha Hande, an acquaintance serving at a hospital at Erandwane, who enrolled my name for admission in the said hospital.

Simultaneously, I had informed our local corporator, Rajashri Shilimkar so as to get my residence and vicinity sanitised. While going to the hospital, I faced extreme trouble getting an ambulance. Shilimkar and others tried hard to call for the ambulance, but it would have required another 6 to 8 hours to arrive. I consoled my family members who were in a panic mode. Also, answering incessant calls from well-wishers was causing breathlessness to me. It was the peak time of the day, and I couldn’t even find a rickshaw. Also, it was risky to travel in a rickshaw, considering the transmission of infection to the driver. With no other option left, I brought out my two wheeler and drove alone to the hospital. The admission formalities were completed smoothly due to assistance from the medical trust and Dr. Varsha.

The hospital was a depressing and threatening sight. I could see some patients wailing in pain, some struggling to breathe, and some unfortunate instances of patients even losing their lives on arrival! I was shivering in fear – I had witnessed enough grief in those first four hours in the hospital that anticipating my near future was daunting. When there is no respite, a man has to garner all the courage he can; and that is what I exactly did. I prepared myself for the worst possibility. The next day, my oxygen level dropped below 80. The third day followed with aggravated cough, loose motions and vomiting with blood. These were symptoms of pneumonia. So, I was soon shifted to the ICCU. I remember seeing the hassled doctors, nurses and ward boys doing the rounds. I couldn’t communicate or convey what I needed due to the respiratory pipes inserted in my nose and throat, and there was no one close to help me either. I was gradually losing hope. At last, all I could hold on to were my deeds, leaving my fate to Swami Samarth.

Soon after my treatment started, I had to be put on ventilator support. There was no one next to me who could take the decision as all my family members were quarantined at the Balewadi COVID centre. They were unaware of my critical condition; neither did I know that they were quarantined! In such a trying situation, some of my close relatives, with the help of Dr. Varsha and Sunil Bhosale, completed the formalities, following which I was put on the ventilator. Post five days on the ventilator, the doctors suggested calling my family members over, citing my deteriorating condition. With God’s grace, I regained my consciousness on the sixth day, which brought back hope and relief to my family.

The atmosphere of the ICCU was dreadful – every day, there was one demise, and on one of the days, three deaths were reported. Hearing and witnessing this was devastating. I felt petrified and often cried at the unbearable pain and loss around me – the emotional and psychological stress resulted in my blood pressure once dropping to 40! Thankfully, I was treated in time, and my condition was stabilised.

It was after 15 days that I was moved to the general ward, but I still had no relief from coughing. For days together, no one came close to me except the nurses. The greatest sorrow in this pandemic is staying isolated at a time when you need your loved ones the most! I was bed-ridden, couldn’t move, and was on oxygen support. Often, I had to help myself with the things I wanted – even with fetching water, as the hospital staff was scarce due to the pandemic. One month had passed! I again underwent the RT-PCR and CT scan. The reports weren’t good – it seemed more suffering was in store! There were vein blockages diagnosed in my CT scan, but I was tested negative for COVID and was moved to the ICU! The only silver lining here was that being shifted to a non-COVID zone meant I could meet my family. I was extremely happy! This longing for my family made me realise what matters the most in life. I could finally meet my family members, friends – it felt like embracing life all over again! My wife had recently recovered from COVID. But despite the weakness, she stayed in the hospital with me for the next 13 days.

I was supposed to be discharged on the 43 rd day. Now, another bigger concern was the hospital bill – it was a whopping Rs. 7,65,000/-. My wife, Swati, ran from pillar to post, trying to get some amount waived off. She was determined to meet any politician for the same. Therein, Rajashri Shilimkar and her acquaintance, Nikhil Shilimkar helped us save Rs. 2,70,000/-; the Thermax Workmen Medical Trust paid a sum of Rs. 1,50,000/- and the company contributed Rs. 2,45,000/-. I paid the remaining amount of 1 lakh.

Before being discharged, I touched the feet of the Godly figure who treated and saved me – Dr. Balasaheb Pawar, the chest specialist. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Dr. Sameer Jog (from Intensive Care Unit) and their team, who brought me back alive from the death’s door. After returning home too, I was on oxygen support for a week. Post that, two months, I was recuperating at home.

The senior members of the organisation – Sharad Gangal (the then Executive Vice President, HR, ER, HSE and Admin), Suhas Garde (Function Head, Employee Relations), Kishor Somwanshi (President, Thermax Workers’ Union) and Sunil Bhosale provided invaluable support that was crucial at the time.

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all the good samaritans who have played a significant role in giving me a new life and I shall forever be indebted to them.

P.S. COVID still exists. I request all to follow the safety measures issued by the government and the organisation. Please remember, only if we are safe; our family is safe.

– Mahesh Shinde
Chinchwad Factory