“Don’t worry. I will be back home soon” — and she kept her word too. For, 72-yearold Sarita Pant took just 10 days to slay the Covid dragon and return home victorious a second time. The first round of battle she fought earlier was with ovarian cancer in March when she defeated the crab in a year-long battle.

“I had heard about the extreme effects of coronavirus but I wasn’t scared at all. During my stay in the hospital I kept chanting God’s name and kept telling myself that I will be back with my family soon. I beat cancer and coronavirus within a year,” Pant, a resident of Tarsali.

After she was admitted to a private hospital on April 28 for Covid treatment, Pant was kept on oxygen for six days before she recovered and was discharged on May 7. While her own faith in herself remained unwavering, her family comprising two daughters and a son and their families were, however, in tenterhooks.

“Mom had just recovered from ovarian cancer and her immunity was low due to several rounds of chemotherapy. She had undergone a major surgery in March for ovary and uterus removal, and her cancer had barely cured. But coronavirus brought her back to the hospital. We were scared as her oxygen levels had dipped severely. She, however, didn’t seem perturbed at all,” said Sandip Vaidya, son-in-law of Pant.

In October last year, Pant complained of shooting pain in her stomach and the tests showed that she had a tumour below the pancreas. Pant was detected with ovarian cancer later and her chemotherapy started.

“She underwent six rounds of chemotherapy but to our surprise, she never complained about any pain. On April 8, doctors said that she had cured from cancer. And just12 days later, she developed Covid symptoms,” Vaidya recalled.

‘We meet challenges with courage’

Sarita Pant was under home quarantine for a week before getting admitted to the hospital.

Sandip Vaidya, son-inlaw of Pant, whose daughter Prarthana became the youngest mountaineer in the world at the age of 11 when she climbed 20,079 feet on Mt Kalindi near Indo-China border, said fearlessness runs in the girls’ veins. His younger daughter, Prachi, too became the youngest Indian to climb Mount Thelu (6,002) at the age of six in 2000.

“Our family has always met challenges with courage,” said Vaidya, who credited his mother-in-law’s strong willpower that helped her emerge victorious both the times

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