By Langhu Valentina
‘‘There is the agony of businesses shutting down which led to unemployment and displacement but leaving us with bills due for payment, besides protecting our family members from contacting the deadly coronavirus. But the most painful and tragic thing to bear is the death of a family or friend who succumbs to this deadly virus.”
On International Nurses Day the world cheers the nursing personnel for their valour and heroism at saving lives and playing the role of second angels to sick people who need the most care in their darkest hours. I believe every one of us have had our share of experiences of navigating through the dreaded years of Covid-19 from the burden of piling enough ration stocks in our kitchen store to other essential household items that will last us a week at least. There is the agony of businesses shutting down which led to unemployment and displacement but leaving us with bills due for payment, besides protecting our family members from contacting the deadly coronavirus. But the most painful and tragic thing to bear is the death of a family or friend who succumbs to this deadly virus. It leaves us with a numbing feeling and a vacuum in our hearts that will not be mended easily.
A nurse by profession, when I was called for Covid duty I went through a range of emotions. I was overwhelmed with fear but at the same time a sense of responsibility for the job I had been doing my whole life. The fear was whether I would be given enough protective measures when I have to come in direct contact with people who are infected with Covid. The moment I put on the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) suit, everything became blurred with all the masks and goggles or face shields and my face fully covered from head to the toe. Then the sweat would start dripping down my face and body. I had to stay in the ward for 6 to 7 hours, which also means I could not relieve myself even if I urgently wanted to. Nor could I quench my thirst until my shift was over, for drinking water meant I would need to use the toilet which I can’t in my PPE.
From what I heard from my other colleagues, some of our staff had to wear diapers because they suffer from urinary tract infections and have problems holding their bladder for long hours. One of the first things we did on being released from our duties is to rush to the bathroom. The next thing is to drink a bottle of water, take a shower, eat lunch and rest, only to be awakened for the next shift. This is the routine we followed during these phases of Covid duty. After the Covid duty rotating shifts are over we will be off for a week and then back to work. This is the job we embraced with pride and dignity in our hearts leaving behind our personal matters with our beloved families who support us constantly in their prayers.
Apart from the professional front, I also have to share some funny experiences I had during the lockdown. Since almost everything was shut down except for essentials and even the salons and parlours remained closed, to keep up with my self-care, beauty routine, I purchased an orange gel peel-off mask along with an orange face wash. The next day, I started the session without reading the label properly and squeezed a hefty amount of gel from the tube on the tip of my finger and applied it all over my face then left it on to dry as per the instructions provided with the brochure. After a few minutes I patted my face to check if it’s time to peel off the face mask. To my astonishment the gel was still wet just as I had put it on. Only then I realized that I had mistakenly put on face wash gel instead of the peel-off mask gel and so it was not drying. Immediately I had to splash a bucket of water onto my face to cleanse off the face-wash foam from my face. That was such a wastage of the face wash gel. It would have lasted me a week or so, and, of course, a waste of water too.
But whatever happens in life and no matter what the experiences – good bad and ugly, there is always the humorous side to life and that story also needs telling. Every second and every minute counts! Let’s not forget to laugh even in the face of tragedy because every rainbow appears only after the storm has passed and then we can see that silver lining in the midst of the clouds.
‘‘A nurse by profession, when I was called for Covid duty I went through a range of emotions. I was overwhelmed with fear but at the same time a sense of responsibility for the job I had been doing my whole life. The fear was whether I would be given enough protective measures when I have to come in direct contact with people who are infected with Covid.”
The writer is Nursing Officer, NEIGRIHMS