The Healers: From the sidelines

“I completed my MD two years ago and have been waiting for my convocation ever since. We get a date every year for it but owing to the pandemic, it keeps getting cancelled. I am a dermatologist by profession and have been practicing privately since my MD. And although I am not directly associated with Covid duties at present, I wouldn’t mind going to the hospital if need be, to help the patients.

Having been born and brought up in a family of doctors and being married to a doctor as well, I understand how our mindset works: we are channelized emotionally to help out our patients, under any circumstances. But although I do resonate with this feeling, as a wife and as a daughter, I am very scared when my family goes to the hospital. My husband is an ENT specialist and has been actively involved with Covid patients. It is quite stressful for me almost everyday to see him go to work and all I can wish for is that he comes back home safely.

Last year when the pandemic hit, a common friend of ours, who was an anesthetist and assisted my husband in all of his surgeries, contracted the virus and died soon after. I used to meet him every two weeks; his death sent chills in our body and made us realize how serious this pandemic was! Now it has become a nightmare.

In addition, we both have also experienced a significant change in the behaviour of…