Second Wave COVID-19: Licking Wounds as the Dust Settles

 

Second wave of the pandemic struck us sometime towards the end of February’21 and over the next three months, we were engulfed into a tsunami that saw more than 3000 cases coming into the hospital in critical state, with almost a fourth of them succumbing to this dreaded disease despite the efforts of each and everyone in the team. While similar numbers, if not worse were pouring in from few other centers, we felt proud that our team had come out unscathed after braving the odds and saving lives and lungs in one of the busiest of hospitals.

While we went about doing this Himalayan task with total disregard to safety of our own and our families, we learnt each moment that the challenges we faced were making us stronger and wiser for the next day. That we were overwhelmed, atleast transiently, by this wave of pandemic that struck us as it did the rest of the world was a foregone conclusion by any assessment. But the courage and fortitude shown by each member of the team in standing strong with resilience and ensuring that best possible care was provided to each patient who knocked at our door for help was one to be seen and admired.

Once the number of cases had reduced to scanty, and most of them with milder disease, it was time to regroup and we went about the task of resting and recuperating which was much needed after an eventful period of four months of mental and physical drudgery that each one of us has encountered. Leave plans were redrawn as most of us had not taken a break to be home with our kin. With an ominous forecast of 3^rd wave looming large, and the surge of pending non-Covid patients swarming the hospitals in the intervening period, we had to recover well enough to be able to stand guard again to face the impact.

The battle was won for the time being but the war was far from over, and the warriors had to return to the posts, they had so commendably held during the onslaught. We all had heard many sweet words of appreciation and gratitude from the recovered patients and their kin which had pushed us further to work harder and keep going strong. There were words of bitterness and anger too, which came our way from those who’s dear ones didn’t have a favorable outcome, but it was something we had to take in our stride and move on regardless, doing the best we could in the circumstances we were in, and with the resources we had.

Although statistics do little justice to tasks such as these, expressed in numbers, it reads thus: 10,000+ patients, most of them seriously ill, treated with more than 8800 recovered, by a team of 14 physicians at the forefront, amongst others in the team, working tirelessly through last 18 months. Not just stopping at this, the team relentlessly worked by contributing to the scientific literature by publishing relevant data and experiences derived from managing these challenging cases. It is an ongoing process with more than 10 research publications already published or accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

The personal challenges and odds that some of our team members faced and can’t be put in tangible numbers is to have been helpless at seeing their near ones suffer from this disease, neglect the illnesses of those back home, while tending to those under their care in the hospital.  It was heart rending to see one of team members lose both his parents in quick succession ruthlessly mauled by the virus.  That none of these odds could deter these bravehearts while they did their professional duty with clinical precision and sincerity, was awe inspiring for the whole team and left them fueled up for their task ahead.

In the months that followed, what was most disheartening to the team was a clear lack of gratitude and almost vengeful behavior by the same people for whom these warriors had labored day and night, putting their heart and soul into the task assigned. Grievances and complaints, often bordering to being abusive, against doctors and hospital administration were flying thick and fast. Even the “brothers-in-arms” who stood by, to assist the apparently  “overwhelmed warriors” and had watched us with awe and admiration then, were now questioning our processes and protocols. Their retrospective analysis and appreciation of the war that had been fought, highlighted the “weakness and limitations” more than the “strengths and resilience” of the treating team.

However, what really hurt was, when instead of acknowledging, appreciating and honoring the warriors in the occasions when a grateful nation and organization announces awards, the team that had sweated and bled through the wave, was left stung and humiliated at having been ignored. Most of those who toiled hard, from the team of specialists that stood at the forefront of this battle were left unacknowledged.

While the thorough professionals that all of us are who have been trained to work against all odds, we shall continue to work selflessly regardless, its only in the rightful scheme of things, that the organization which stands tall as one of the fairest in its practices, introspects its own protocols in such aspects, lest such wanton and brazen neglect of the hard-working unsung warriors lead to a demoralized and uninspired team.

 

Disclaimer: The contents of this personal blog are thoughts of the author, and no disrespect to any individual or organization is intended.  Resemblance to any event, individual or organization is unintentional and purely coincidental.