Corona Virus Disease i.e. CoViD shook the year 2020. Originating from Wuhan, it spread rapidly among so called ‘Homo Sapiens’ killing more than 1.6 million! To restrict the spread lockdowns were imposed in many countries and world came to a standstill. Schools closed. Trains stopped. Flights grounded. Theatres closed. Stadiums closed. Mecca closed. Vatican city closed. Mandirs closed. Gurudwaras closed. But the world didn’t change much inside the hospital campus. Or I must say, it changed a lot.
India’s first confirmed Covid case was detected on 30th January 2020 and the preparations began. One entire building was designated as ‘Dedicated Covid Hospital’, while rest of the hospital building serving for non-covid patients as well. Medicines and equipments were stocked up, new oxygen plant set up and more health staff called in. Canteen discussions changed from random chatter-patter to that of predictions, fear and anxiety about upcoming crisis. Newspapers on the dining table read the stories from Italy. It was hard for us to imagine situation here in India, when we saw that health system of rich european countries collapsed like a pack of cards. Someone informed that UK’s health system was so overstretched that they were admitting patients only if the patient is not maintaining oxygen level. All these news created a weird mixed atmosphere of fear, disbelief, worry and anxiety, but also of hope and optimism.
Then came a time when the pandemic actually hit hard in India.
Those were the months of August and September. Hospitals were not full of patients. They were full of critical patients. 90% of the admitted patients were on oxygen support. ICUs were always full with a constant list of waiting patients. Waiting for someone in the ICU to die, so that they get the bed in ICU, only to be replaced by someone else later. This was painful to witness. We doctors have seen deaths. A lot of deaths. But this time, the scene was much dreadful. And it did affect us. Laughter was rare in canteen discussions now. The silence of doctor coming back from covid ICU duty was palpable. How can he/she ever forget the ICU ward, where 2 deadbodies are lying on the bed waiting to be shifted to mortuary, two patients waiting on stretcher outside ICU, one patient in the ambulance downstairs and two more patients deteriorated in wards. Five patients and just two potential beds vacant. What to do?!
It was predictable quite earlier that India’s healthcare system will be overstretched and won’t be able to meet the demands of pandemic. But no one thought that it will collapse to the extent that doctors will have to decide whom to let die in better interest of other patient. Some may argue that doctors take such decisions all the time. Well that is not true. Here the triage was resource based. Which patients to treat in ICU when not all could be. A difficult decision indeed. Will it be ethical/acceptable to remove a patient from ventilator so that other one with probable better chances of survival be put on that ventilator? Do we doctors have the right to decide on patient’s part about their own life? Or is this justifiable as done in better public interest, or greater good? While there were clear guidelines regarding treatment of Covid, there were no guidelines/advisories regarding ethics and morality in these situations. At times it was difficult to say what was heating up our brains more, these decisions or the hot PPEs.
Covid is a ruthless disease. It separates patients from their loved ones, when they are most needed. Covid won’t even let the father bid final goodbye to his anxious son who also lost his mother to covid 2 days ago. The funeral customs which facilitate community support for relieving grief of near ones were also restricted. All this created fear in the minds of society so much that people started hiding symptoms. Covid now became more of a taboo like AIDS. People didnt want their neighbours to know that they had a ‘positive’ patient in their home.
While rest of the world was staying home and working from home, healthcare workers were toiling in uncomfortable PPEs with constant risk of deadly infection. The police department was standing in scorching heat of May to ensure lockdown. NGOs and social workers were working day in and out to supply essentials to the needy. Also let’s not forget efforts taken by those engaged in Covid research. What if we still did not know the cause of this terrible disease, and had no idea how it spread?! Unimaginable right. We tend to take these things for granted. All these collective efforts by health staff and administration has helped reach where we are today.
One of the many things Covid has taught is how helpless we are as humans that a single invisible organism with funny shape has brought the world to knees. And that kindness and compassion are essential for survival of humans. Millions of stories of people helping each other and giving service to needy in whatever way possible rejuvenated hopes in mankind.
People with whom we started this year are not around us today. So if you are alive and reading this today, let us be grateful to God for our life and be more kind to each other henceforth.
Whenever there is a human in need, there is an oppurtunity to be kind and make a difference.
Kevin Heath
Healthy Wellthy and Wise 