“My ammijaan often complains that I care more about others than my own family. That’s because whenever she calls me, most of the time, I would be on duty serving the patients in the hospital. All this makes her feel like I don’t think about them or that work is a bigger priority for me. But how do I make her understand that all these efforts are only for them and the service itself makes me happy?
I come from a traditional middle class family in Nandyala in Andhra Pradesh. We are a large family of eleven – six brothers, three sisters and my parents.
After my college, I had worked in Delhi as a Public Health Nurse for two years. Later, I got posted as a nursing officer in Lucknow in Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences ( SGPGIMS) in the Nephrology ward, so I moved here along with my wife and daughter.
Due to COVID-19 outbreak, I was assigned the duty in the isolation ward where we directly deal with the postive and suspected patients of novel corona virus.
At first my family weren’t comfortable with me doing my job in the isolation ward. But being a responsible nursing officer, especially during a pandemic situation like this, I knew I will have to give my one hundred percent, so I kept everything aside and continued to report to work. Those six-hour shifts in the isolation ward (no bathroom breaks or meals allowed) are more difficult than our regular twelve hour shifts in the medical ward.
We are completely covered with hazmat suits along with the N95masks before we enter the isolation ward. It is sweaty and uncomfortable since the mask restricts air flow. But once we are in the suit, we will have to condition ourselves to not touch our face or expose any skin till the shift ends. After every shift, we will have to carefully remove our suits without touching anything and discard them into the biomedical waste bags in the exit area. The shift-end procedure involves a complete body shower. An attendant brings our clothing after we remove our suits. After every seven days of our shifts, we are put into self-isolation rooms for 14 days. Once the tests come out, on the fifteenth day, if we are tested negative, we are allowed to go back home.
Every day is a challenge and each practical experience in the COVID-19 ward has only taught me how blessed I am to be able to live in this beautiful world. On this occasion of International Nurses Day, I want to request people to be more sensible and humane towards others. Nothing is permanent and we will get over this situation soon!”
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