Today I tested covid –19 negative, but I am afraid……..
I am a nurse rather can be called a frontline warrior in covid 19 pandemic …. From the bottom of my heart, I am proud to be a nurse by profession. as I stepped into covid designated ICU after my donning with a mindset as a commando entering a war zone, I am happy to be a part of the war. But just after a couple of hours in the ICU with all my weapons ( PPE), the situation wholly overturned; my eyes faded with fogging of goggles, my head started spinning like a globe, and I started feeling thirsty, my lips got dry, and last I got tired to feel like falling. My colleague gave me a helping hand and a chair to sit on and asked me to close my eyes. Within a span of the clock, I regained my strength and resumed my duty to care for my patients wholeheartedly. After finishing my duty, I doffed, showered, and returned to my room with an empty stomach and full bladder, fully dehydrated, tensed, and hypoglycaemic…. Lost all my strength and sugars of life and mind
- NOT TO BE PSYCHIC AFTER DUTY
Working in a covid ICU like an astronaut wearing all my PPE, caring for my patients who are on ventilator y support struggling for life and air due to underlying disease conditions. The intensity of the disease, which I was expecting from outside, was the opposite. Caring for them without the basic needs of ours has not been met was stressful.
Temporary accommodation has been provided by the hospital for us, but we feel a long distance away from our home, leaving our families apart at 44 degrees of the burning sun just on the breeze of a fan .staying away from families is traumatic to anyone but if that to in an isolated room ….i think I lost my mind. Some night I heard weeping sounds from rooms, missing their kids …keeping ourselves and feelings aside, continued taking care of duties. Happy to certain patients got out of ventilators and rejoined with families gave us a moment of joy and gratitude but on the flip side, when we miss a patient, felt terrible for them and helpless.
THE METER OF PHYSICAL STRENGTH IS RUNNING DOWN ….
Working with a level 3 PPE in an ICU is a physical burden; six hours of duty is marked as sixteen, and adding donning and doffing to duty is a day-long process . during a duty, we can’t even think of water, washroom, or even breathing with wide mouth open. Many of us fell before completing, and many developed urinary tract infections. Mensuration while on duty, can’t even think of it. Allergies and skin aberrations infection added to the burden. The Female collapsed and developed infections and pain during mensuration with PPE. Administration became a dump to all our concerns as we are nowhere in the planning. Please save us to save others.
But still, we are here to serve the needy. Today I have been tested negative, but some of my friends are positive and … expecting my turn may not come ….
