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Khanjan Mehta and family

My COVID Story: Recovering from COVID and Acts of Kindness

In early March, before the United States had been confronted by the full reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, Khanjan Mehta, Vice Provost for Creative Inquiry, traveled to Liberia as part of Lehigh’s recent work to help improve maternal mortality rates in Africa. Though he was aware of reports about how the pandemic had begun to spread elsewhere, Mehta was reassured by reports that, in Liberia, there had yet to be any cases.

Within days of his return, however, he began to experience symptoms. Shortly thereafter, his wife, two children and parents did as well. Positive tests would eventually confirm that the family were infected. Mehta endured terrible chills for days on end. His wife suffered through respiratory symptoms that made it difficult for her to breathe. His children had milder symptoms, but his parents' age and pre-existing health conditions were a cause for concern. Their illness lingered longer. "Those were the scary moments," he says.

Mehta, who lost an uncle to COVID-19 shortly before he fell ill, admits there was a day early in their ordeal when he began to panic. "And that makes it worse," he says. "So there was one day that was definitely bad, but after a while we just decided that we just had to deal with this calmly and think about what's within our control."

“Everybody has a different style and some people like to rest, but my default would be to keep my mind occupied with stuff that matters to me. Even when I was really sick, I didn’t take a break. I just kept on working as much as I could.”

Having now come out healthy on the other side, Mehta says he looks back with appreciation for those who supported the family during their trial. During this difficult time, he says, we must all do what we can to help one another. “I think that there were a couple of days when we were told not to step out of the house, and that's when one of my wife's colleagues brought in some groceries for us. Those little acts of kindness really kept us going.”