BHUBANESWAR: This is a tale of one man’s courage to beat the odds as it is about others chipping in to help him see through one of the most difficult phases of life. Smruti Ranjan Jena is a software professional from Kendrapada. The 34-year-old moved to New York just over a year back. But life took a different turn a few weeks back.On March 9, Jena felt feverish. He took some medicines , thinking it would take care of the fever. But over the next couple of days, his discomfort worsened. He was having trouble breathing and there was acute pain in the body. “I visited a nearby hospital where doctors prescribed me some medicines,” Jena said. He returned home, took the medicines, but it did not give him relief.Those were still the early days of novel coronavirus hitting US shores. Jena got scared when his boss told him that an office colleague had contracted Covid-19.“I visited the hospital again on March 19. This time I insisted that the doctors take my blood sample and throat swab for testing. The hospital sent the samples to a designated testing centre in California. Three days later, my report came back as Covid-19 positive,” Jena reminisced With cases mounting, doctors gave him medicines and advised him home quarantine. “Unlike others, I was told to stay at home.”But this was a period of hardship. With no one to take care of him at home, Jena had to go through untold misery. “I did not even have food,” he said. It was then two countrymen from Hyderabad came to his rescue. “They provided me with food. It helped me to keep going,” said Jena.Calls from family and friends from India and the US bolstered his spirits and on Sunday, he finally managed to beat the virus that has taken countless lives across the globe. “Though I have fully recovered, doctors have advised me to stay indoors for some more days,” said Jena.