One Son’s 48-Hour Fight to Save His Parents
THE NEW YORK TIMES, APRIL 30, 2021
Ajay Koli with his parents. Photo: Courtesy Ajay Koli
After his parents fell seriously ill with Covid-19, Mr. Koli went on a desperate hunt for oxygen and medical care. His experience is all too common in India as the pandemic spirals out of control.
BY KARAN DEEP SINGH
April 24
10:50 a.m.
Mr. Koli catches a two-hour flight from Pune in western India to New Delhi, where his father is hooked up to an oxygen cylinder at a small hospital.
In New Delhi, where his parents went to attend a funeral, tens of thousands of people are getting sick and hundreds are dying each day. Hospitals are overrun, oxygen is in short supply and the healthcare system is breaking down.
Just days before, his father had called, saying he was having trouble breathing and his condition was deteriorating. Mr. Koli is also concerned about his mother, who has tested positive for the virus. “How will she get help if something happens to her?” he wonders.
On the flight, he swipes through family photos. The evening he and his parents went for a walk in the park.
Photo: Courtesy Ajay Koli
The day he gifted his father a new smartphone.
Photo: Courtesy Ajay Koli
The day his father cut his hair.
Photo: Courtesy Ajay Koli
1:05 p.m.
In Delhi, people are scrambling to find oxygen. One oxygen cylinder is now selling for upwards of 50,000 rupees, or $675, nearly 10 times the normal price.
His father calls Mr. Koli’s sister, Anju. “Please get one oxygen cylinder. Otherwise I will die,” he tells her as his voice trails off. It was his last phone call.
1:26 p.m.
He grabs a taxi from the airport and heads home to check on his mother, who is by herself at home. His father, he tells himself, has doctors and nurses caring for him at the hospital.
EXPLORE THE FULL STORY AS AN INTERACTIVE.
In Delhi, people are scrambling to find oxygen. One oxygen cylinder is now selling for upwards of 50,000 rupees, or $675, nearly 10 times the normal price.
Original story design and graphics by Weiyi Cai, Lauren Leatherby and Allison McCann.
Published on Page A6, May 4, 2021, New York edition of The New York Times
