"Why am I leaving one of the safest places in the world?" - Mike Hussey recounts harrowing experience he faced while battling COVID-19
Former Australian cricketer and Chennai Super Kings assistant coach Mike Hussey gave an insight into the world of bio-bubbles and his struggles after contracting COVID-19 during the first leg of the IPL in India. The 14th edition of the IPL was suspended after the virus breached the bio-bubble and made playing any further matches impossible.
Australian cricket legend Mike Hussey has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 in India while coaching the IPL team. #9News
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Mike Hussey tested positive for the virus alongside bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji. The former batsman was skeptical over the prospect of traveling to India, which was crippling due to the second wave. In his column for Fox Sports, Hussey wrote:
"I felt uneasy when the time came to leave Perth earlier this year to coach with the Chennai Super Kings at the Indian Premier League. 'Why am I leaving one of the safest places in the world?’ But I love my job and I had made a commitment to coach at the IPL. So, despite my nervousness, I flew to India and embarked on the mandatory seven-day quarantine which was a prerequisite for entering the IPL bubble."
Hussey added:
"We were confined to a certain wing of the hotel. There was a gym, a pool and an eating area we could use. That was it.Life revolved around two events: the bus out to the ground for practice and games, and the bus back to the hotel. For some of the guys, this was their second year of bubble-to-bubble living."
He claimed the bio-bubble in Mumbai was air-tight, but things took a turn for the worse when the team switched bio-bubbles for the one in Delhi. The initial set of matches of the IPL were held in Chennai and Mumbai before they moved onto Delhi and Ahmedabad.
The doctor with the team was concerned: Hussey
After returning a positive test for the virus, Hussey was asked to stay back and complete the mandatory quarantine. With the nation's capital healthcare system crumbling due to the alarming number of cases, the decision to airlift Hussey to the team base in Chennai was made.
The player was carried off in a body bag to a different hospital to complete the remainder of his treatment. Hussey continued:
"I was locked in my room immediately. No one could come in, and I obviously couldn’t leave. Food was left outside my door like in quarantine. I was isolated, a bit worried and feeling progressively worse.My symptoms: I had a bad fever to the point where I was changing my shirt four or five times a night from sweating out. I had a relentless dry, barking cough. And I was really tired. I would try and sit at my desk to do some work, but quickly feel the need for a lie-down. I would wake up from what felt like a quick nap to realise three or so hours had passed."
Hussey added:
"The doctor with the team was concerned. He realised I was probably in the worst place in the world to get Covid at that time. Delhi was recording hundreds of thousands of known new cases a day, there were very few hospital beds and many, many more people lining up outside the hospitals in need of them."
Mike Hussey details his battle with Covid-19 in India with @jbcallinan
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In conclusion, Hussey mentioned that he was fortunate enough to have an employer that took care of his medical needs, a provision not the rest could avail. Hussey added:
"All that said, I was incredibly lucky. There were so many people in worse situations than me. I had an employer that went out of its way to look after me at a time of crisis for the country. As confronting as it was to be sick and stranded, having people on the ground with your best interests at heart was very comforting."
Hussey eventually tested negative for the virus on May 16, following which he was allowed to go home. Chennai Super Kings eventually went on to win the tournament after it resumed in September in the UAE.