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As we emerge from the pandemic and everything around us opens up, we speak to people across the country to hear their stories and their struggles.
Dr Kush Sharma, 33
Associate Professor, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, Tahirpur, New Delhi
It was the first time we had seen so many patients dying. The pandemic had struck in 2020, and Lok Nayak hospital — where I’m a resident doctor — had started receiving patients; nobody knew anything about the virus at that time.
There was despair and fear all at once. I was worried what would happen if I accidentally infected my own family. So, for almost six months, I did not visit them, which added to the extreme mental stress in those days.
I was lucky to have my fiancé, also a doctor, with me in Lok Nayak. She was a saving grace during those tumultuous times. In November 2020, we got married in a small ceremony, but the impending second wave was looming over us. Soon, the new Delta strain hit and the situation took a turn for the worse. We were thrust in the middle of a war that nobody in the world knew how to win.
Unlike never before, elderly people and patients with co-morbidities were getting admitted; our ICUs were full with patients in the young to middle-age group. Then there were healthy individuals, people one would expect to pull through any disease. But we were losing them. Every day. We saw patients struggle, give up and die.
No amount of medical training prepares one to handle so many mortalities. It took a toll on me and many like me. I would cry often. I was in quarantine in my hotel room, attending endless calls and counselling patients, family and friends. Our hospital had also started counselling for doctors in the COVID ward.
My worst fear came true when I got infected and to my horror, I carried the infection home to my parents. My mother, who was hypertensive with hypothyroid, caught a serious infection; it was horrifying. It took her a whole month to make it through. I can never forget those sleepless nights. Such experiences remind us that God exists and listens to our prayers. Looking back, these last two years have taught me to spend more time with loved ones; life can be so unpredictable.
What I want to leave behind from the past two years?
Seeing my patients and friends succumb even after our best efforts; being forced to stay away from loved ones, whether to avoid passing the infection to them or during quarantine periods
What I am looking forward to in 2023?
An actual cure for severe COVID infections; better and affordable healthcare infrastructure, so that we never have to face what we did during the second wave of the pandemic; spending quality time with my family and friends as I have realised life is unpredictable. So, finish up your bucket lists before it’s too late. Also, hopefully, people will understand the sacrifices healthcare workers make and there will be an end to increasing violence against doctors and healthcare staff
— As told to Ankita Upadhyay
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