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The Healers: Soldier in disguise
“When the disease was at its peak in China, my brother was in Wuhan University providing medical services. The Indian government managed to get him back from Wuhan after the completion of his duties. I was aware of the horrible experiences he had there; dead bodies stacked daily like firewood in the hallway outside the hospitals.
I was a second year MS Surgery student when the pandemic started in India; we had a rotation of one month posting in covid areas and the following month in non-covid areas. There was no fixed schedule; my duties lasted from 6–8 hours. Working in a COVID ICU is tough , especially after donning and doffing the PPE kits. We forget basic human needs. Like a fighter pilot, an ICU doctor has to think clearly under pressure and respond effectively to rapidly changing situations while jeopardising their own lives.
It’s not talked about as much, but this pressure can dispirit the doctors, especially the ones with pre-existing conditions. The hardest time for me was when two of my juniors committed suicide succumbing to this pressure. I couldn’t grasp the reality, I broke down. But, we are like soldiers in this war against the virus. If we don’t go, no one will be able to take care of…
