The N-95 masks, safety goggles and protective gowns were enough to cut off all means of human communication between a serious patient and an already scared nurse at the Intensive Care Unit of the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. But, the team at the medical college crossed the hurdles with the unparalleled care offered to the infected persons even after seeing the dance of death before their eyes and the way bodies were being packed for cremation in a grief-stricken ambience.
“While receiving Lini with serious Nipah symptoms, her only question to us was whether she would survive. It was such a painful moment as we could only encourage her to be positive and fight. She slowly became unconscious in the later stages and succumbed to the infection,” recalls Sunitha John, one of the staff nurses who received her at the ICU. The death of youngsters losing their battle to the infection was the most tragic scenes as we took care of them a lot, she adds.
Steadfast dedication
There was a15-member nursing team at the Medical College that mainly attended to the Nipah victims under the leadership of senior doctors. Only a few of them tried to visit their family members during the course of treatment as a precautionary measure. Though the constant use of safety masks and protective gowns caused severe headache and vomiting sensation among many of them, they were not ready to give up. Many of their family members too stood by them during these crucial hours.
When one of the nursing students attending to Nipah victims fell ill, the situation turned grim for many. “We had no hope when that nursing student was brought to the ICU with all the serious complications of Nipah infection. She was not even aware of the seriousness of her illness. Compared to Lini, her condition was really bad,” recalls Divya Aneesh, another nurse at the Medical College. Her miraculous return to life was such a delight and hope for all of us and fuelled our confidence to save at least a few more lives, she adds.
Nursing staff who attended to the recovering nursing student and another youth at the Medical College reveal that the two survivors are now communicating with their parents and family members on mobile phones.
The nursing student is now very eager to sit along with her mother and celebrate her coming back to life. “We are all waiting to see that joyful moment. The second one who survived the infection is now very keen about reading all the news reports published about him,” they say.
A junior resident who worked alongside the nursing staff attests that the care extended to the Nipah victims at the Medical College were edifying examples of excellent team work, compassion, courage and mercy. “They were all aware of the danger of handling the infected, but none of them went back on their jobs with lame excuses,” she recalls. The lady doctor also lauds the role played by the cleaning staff at the Medical College who cleaned the floors each time a patient vomited. “They are the unsung heroes and heroines of this battle, all very humble and ready to take the risk, real models of compassion,” she says.