“I don’t get to hug my children as soon as I go back home. I sleep in a separate room and have a separate plate and glass for myself. I spend hours in the PPE kit and saving lives. This is just a day in the lives of a Covid warrior, and I am one of them.
Sixteen hours of study a day and sheer hard work is what helped me crack EAMCET. By securing 98th rank, I got into my dream college, Osmania Medical College for MBBS. Post that, I pursued a Master’s in General Surgery in which I was a university topper and also a gold medalist. It was then that my interest inclined towards neurosurgery. We were allowed to explore the options each department gave us. So, there was a young boy who had fallen from the second floor and moved to the neuro department immediately. He was the only son of his parents and was born after ten years of their marriage. The surgery was conducted by a senior of mine. We saw the boy walk again in few days. This one incident moved and motivated me to pursue neurosurgery as a career.
Later, by cracking the neurosurgeon exam, I got into the dream hospitals that every medical student wishes to work for – NIMS, Gandhi, and Osmania. As a doctor, every day is a hustle. We come across different patients, different cases. Some live and some die. Presently I am working as a Neurosurgeon consultant at TX hospitals. Every patient I have treated has always been a special case for me. But one such case that I can never really forget is the one I operated on my birthday. So, I took a leave for my birthday and was chilling at a friend’s place. I got a call saying it is an emergency and I am needed there immediately. The critical patient was a cardiac patient. Having seen his family quite literally fall on my feet, I knew I had to save his life. Trust me, that was the best birthday ever. It felt good to save a life on the day I was born.
Having said that, not every day is a flowery day. Covid has made our lives chaotic. It has impacted our lives both emotionally and mentally. Witnessing the pandemic from close quarters, I can say that the sense of humanity has been fading away by the day. We have experienced few extreme conditions not only professionally but also emotionally. We’ve had families who leave their near and dear ones in our wards and ICUs and never return. They’d pay the bill and warn us not to call them but instead the GHMC if the patient ever dies. On the other hand, we also had families who just wouldn’t leave the patient. Few were requesting us to let them into the covid ward without caring for their health.
Last year along with a team of doctors, we started a home Covid care where our doctors treat the Covid positive patients in the patient’s home itself. This idea of ours made sure they didn’t require unnecessary hospital admissions. Honestly, we are back to zero. Sheer negligence has let the virus spread rampantly. Previously, the only symptoms of the virus were fatigue, cough, and fever. But now, as there is an increase in the mutant strain, the symptoms have increased as well. Gastrointestinal symptoms like abdominal pain, loose motions, and even the discolor of the tongue are treated as one of the symptoms of the deadly virus.
In such adverse times, we need to be honest with ourselves. We need to put on masks and maintain physical distancing. The government and various institutes need to focus on primary prevention. It is important for us to not take advantage of the catastrophic situation we are in and fight it out together.”
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