The Virus - Chapter 12

How a Virus Changed the World …. for the Better ….

Chapter 12          Rays of Hope Amid the Chaos

Three days passed. Dr. Jolly was starting to feel some mild flu-like symptoms. But he continued working in his room at the hotel where he was being quarantined.

He was in constant communication with his daughter Jenna who was at the meditation center. He was also talking to Maria in New York and Vahid in Atlanta on a regular basis.

The situation worldwide was getting worse. The number of people getting infected was spiking and every day more cities were initiating lockdowns and restrictions.

There were chaos and unrest in several cities as people were reacting to lack of freedom and lack of access to restaurants and social gathering places.

In several cities in Europe there were protests against the lockdowns.

In South America the military had be called in to enforce certain restrictions.

In Western Africa there were new cases of Ebola which complicated the efforts to fight the pandemic.

Some countries were still reluctant to take measures to control the spread of the virus and the number of infected was reaching a very high level with many hospitals overrun with patients suffering from severe respiratory problems needing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The death toll was rising rapidly.

Refugee camps in the Middle East were another hotbed of the pandemic with very little support in terms of medical facilities and doctors.

In India where Dr. Jolly being quarantined, some areas were experiencing tremendous spike in the number of infections while other areas were hardly affected.

Global travel had come to a screeching health as many countries had closed their airports to stop the spread of the virus.    

Dr. Jolly with the help of the kitchen staff at the hotel, was keeping up with his plant-based diet eating lots of vegan food. After all, India was the perfect place to be vegan where almost a third of the population was vegetarian. He was also drinking lots of water where he would add a pinch of sea-salt and a few drops of fresh lemon to make it alkaline and stay hydrated.

Being curious about non-traditional remedies. Dr. Jolly was also following up on the information he had received from Dr. Kaviani about research on the impact of meditation on the immune system done by Dr. Jasmine Morrison in Chicago. He sent her an Email asking for more information and possibly having a zoom meeting.

Meanwhile he was using the Baha’i Writings and prayers he had received from Dr. Kaviani to meditate a couple of times a day.

In the morning and as soon as he woke up, Dr. Jolly noticed a message from Jenna that she had flu-like symptoms and that she had tested positive. He called her immediately. “Hi, Honey, how do you feel?”

“Well, I have been sneezing and coughing a little bit. Other than that, I seem to be ok.” Jenna responded.

“Well, you can come and stay with me here. I have a large room and there is an extra bed. I will talk to Dr. Singh to make the arrangements. Meanwhile drink lots of water. Here, I could monitor your conditions and we have access to great vegan food. So, you’ll be right at home.”

“Thanks dad, looking forward to spending time with you.”

In the afternoon, Jenna was able to come to Dr. Jolly’s quarantine at the hotel where she could rest and be together with him. Their coming together after all this time was somewhat emotional.

“Oh, Jenna, it’s so good to see you. I had a feeling that we were going to be together soon.”

“Wow, dad, it’s great to be with you. You don’t look sick at all.”

“Well, I have been taking care of myself. Lots of water, great healthy food, and plenty of rest. India is the best place to be vegan. You know better. You have been here for a while.”

“Sure, dad, we also had wonderful vegetarian food at the meditation center.”

Dr. Jolly and his daughter Jenna were up till late at night catching up on what they have been up to in the last couple of months. Dr. Jolly talked about meeting Maria during his trip to Mexico and traveling together with Vahid to Brazil. Jenna talked about her experience at the meditation center.  

“Jenna, sweetheart, It’s getting late. You should get some rest.”

“Sure, dad, you sound like mom. always worrying about me. Which reminds to call her.”

“I am sorry honey; I just want to take care of you. We will have a lot of time to talk in the next few days.”

“Sure, I am gonna hit the sack. Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Good night sweetheart.”

Dr. Jolly checked his emails and was surprised to hear from Maria and that she and her son both were in the hospital fighting the virus with some severe symptoms. He tried to call her but there was no response.

He sent a message to Vahid. “I just got news that Maria and her son are in the hospital. Have you heard from her? Are you able to call her?”

After a few minutes he got a message back from Vahid. “Hi Tony, I have not been able to contact her directly. I called the hospital. She is in ICU but her son is in a regular pandemic unit. I will keep checking on their conditions and will keep you posted.”

This was quite a shock for Dr. Jolly. He was sad that he could not be there in New York for Maria at this very difficult time. He sat on the balcony and read several prayers as he meditated for a long time. There were lots of questions on his mind about what was happening and why the pandemic had reached such critical stage. For now, he had to get some rest so he could recover and continue his work in search of solutions for the pandemic.

Dr. Jolly woke up early in the morning from a dream that he was by himself on another planet where there were no signs of life. He kept walking on the dusty landscape in search of civilization or water. But it kept getting hotter with every step he took into the vast desert environment.

He thought about the vivid dream repeatedly as he was trying to figure out the meaning of the imagery. Was there a message that he needed to reflect on? He made some tea for himself and went to the balcony gazing at the horizon in the early morning hours.

Jenna woke up and saw her dad sitting on the balcony. She got some water and joined him.

“Good morning, dad. When did you get up?”

“Oh! Hi sweetheart, I got up at dawn. Had an interesting dream. Did you sleep well?”

“I slept so well last night. What was the dream about?”

Dr. Jolly told her all the details of what he had seen in his sleep.

“Well, your dream might be prophetic. The way we are going about destroying our natural environment, we might end up getting rid of all life-forms on earth.” Jenna responded.

“You’re right dear, how are feeling today?” Asked Dr. Jolly

“Felling much better. Just a little tired. How about you, dad?”

“I also feel a little tired. It’s probably because the body is trying to fight the virus.”

After breakfast Dr. Jolly tried calling Maria but again there was no response. He sent her a text message and sent a message to Vahid to see if he had any updates.

There was also an email from Dr. Morrison in Chicago. “Dear Dr. Jolly, I am delighted to get your email. It’s wonderful to hear that you’re interested in my research on the immune system and meditation. I would love to talk to you. My research was done primarily in the South Side of Chicago where life can be very stressful. I would be happy to share my observations with you. Please let me know when you would like to meet on Zoom.”

Dr. Jolly immediately responded to Dr. Morrison. “Dr. Morrison, thanks for your message. I am very interested to learn more. Here I’m giving you a few date and time options. Please let me know which one works for you?”

After a breakfast of fruits and nuts, Dr. Jolly talked to Jenna about his communication with Dr. Morrison.

“That’s interesting dad, I’m not sure if you know about the Optimum Health Institute in San Diego. I know several people who had been there and had very positive results. Basically, using a body mind spirit approach to health and healing. They use a raw vegan regiment and alkaline juices as well as meditation, colonics, and exercise to let the body detox and heal itself.”

“That’s interesting, Jenna, I would love to learn more about that place. I had also seen research by a Dr. Mulungu in Tanzania about the positive impact of plant-based food on boosting the immune system.”

“Interesting, I think that’s the future, dad. I will send you the link for the Optimum Health Institute website.”  

Late at night, Dr. Jolly got a message from Vahid that he had tested positive for the virus and was in isolation at home trying to protect his family from getting infected.

© 2022 Ramses Rashidi