Actor Freddy Daruwala became a proud father to a son on 15 September. Seen as the archvillain in Murugadoss’ Holiday and the webseries Poison Freddy spent many anxious months as his wife approached the end of her pregnancy.
Says Freddy, “Since my father had contracted Covid-19,my father’s recovery and to save my pregnant wife from the infection…both were crucial to me and the family. We had to keep my wife completely isolated in a room just like my father and since I was the mediator for all of them, my days passed in cleaning my hands, sanitizing places, managing things for both sides.”
It was nonetheless a risky situation. “I had to ensure I don’t pass it on to my wife and the kid so precautions were the only strong thing by my side. We took the utmost precautions and luckily that time of her pregnancy passed. Recently we took an Antigen test and both my wife and I tested positive. So no matter how much we took care, we were definitely exposed to the virus and developed antibodies. Luckily we were asymptomatic and the time went by.”
After Freddy’s father recovered, Freddy and his wife moved from Mumbai to his home town Surat. “We were living pretty much an isolated life. Initially, we didn’t have any plans for the baby’s delivery in Surat. But as the condition got worse in Mumbai, we were getting even more worried. It was like once bitten twice shy scenario.”
With all medical attention in Mumbai focused on Covid patients Freddy says he found it hard to get his pregnant wife the healthcare she needed. “The service-staff system completely collapsed so it was very tough to sustain physically and mentally. We love our doctors in Mumbai. But we started thinking Surat as an option .We zeroed in on this amazing Doc and her facilities in Surat. She turned out to be our family friend’s daughter and runs a very successful practice here. In Surat We still ensured about the room, the staff and the procedures beforehand. We visited the faculty and learnt about their protocols and once the faith and trust was installed, we decided to go for the birth in Surat.”
Freddy and his wife Crystal are finally happy parents. “This is our second child in a span of two years and the family feels more complete now.We haven’t thought of a name but we shall do it in the next few days.”