Dr (Major) Sadhna with her family.
Increasing patient load, physical and mental stress in Covid ICUs, and the toll of staying away from their families — as cases continue to rise, so has the strain on healthcare workers in the city. The Indian Express spoke to doctors and nurses about how they’re coping.
Dr Arif Sohaib (35), Safdarjung Hospital: A few days ago, while Sohaib was on a WhatsApp video call with his wife, he noticed his nine-month-old daughter’s smile was different — there was a sparkling white tooth. “I missed a big moment I feel. When I left home for my 14-day Covid duty, she didn’t have a tooth,” said Sohaib, staying at a hotel room in Green Park. Since June 1, the anaesthetist has been on Covid duty at Safdarjung Hospital. His duty ends on June 14, followed by a quarantine period of at least 7-14 days in the hotel. “By the time I return home, my wife, also an anaesthetist, will begin her Covid duty. Coming back to an empty room after a stressful night at the hospital; the seclusion is tough,” he said, adding, “I just want to see my baby and hug her.”
Dr Arif Sohaib and his wife.
Dr (Major) Sadhna (37), Safdarjung hospital: In the last one month, there were days when Aadhya Arora (8) didn’t see either parent for over 24 hours. Her mother, Sadhna, was deployed in the Covid ward at Safdarjung Hospital, and her father, Dr (Lieutenant Colonel) Ashwin Arora at the Army Base hospital. “My husband and I served in the Army, and our child understands. It’s tough, and we are grateful to our help who takes care of her day and night,” said Sadhna, an anaesthetist.
After spending over 20 days away from her family, she recently returned home and is under self-isolation. “When I was staying at the hotel, I would video call my daughter daily. We’d discuss her homework, what she ate, the dances she prepared, and would exchange photos too. Now that I am home, it’s harder because she can’t come inside my room. She cries and says ‘Mumma, I want to hug you.’ This breaks my heart,” said Sadhna.
Nursing officer (30), RML hospital: “I miss maa ke haath ka khaana, the sense of comfort of putting my head on my mother’s lap after a stressful day at work… it will be months before I see her again,” said the nursing officer, over the phone from a hotel in Mahipalpur, having finished her 14-day Covid duty.
WhatsApp video calls are particularly emotional when her mother breaks down on the phone. “Some days, we watch our patients die despite our best efforts, we realise their families never get to say goodbye… It gets depressing. In the pre-Covid-19 world, we would go home, be with family, now that’s not an option. Akele hi ro lete hai ab,” she said.
Dr Kalicharan Das (31), AIIMS: For the last three months, the neuroanaesthesiologist has volunteered for Covid duty at AIIMS, and has been staying in a single room at the vishraam sadan inside the hospital premises.
Dr Kalicharan Das.
“The first few days on duty were tough. The death of two-three young people, who were in their 40s, due to the virus traumatised me. They would get admitted with no co-morbidities, develop a fever, reach a stage where they’d end up on the ventilator, and we couldn’t revive them,” said Dr Das.
The doctor recalled a particular case in which he intubated a patient, “and my glove tore”. Das said, “I was petrified, I wondered if I got the virus too. I got tested twice in the last three months, and thankfully the result was negative both times. The wait for the result made my anxiety worse. My sleep cycle is messed up.”
Das’ parents back home in Odisha don’t know that he has volunteered in the Covid ward, and he has postponed his wedding, which was due to take place this month.