This warrior saw corona ‘up & close’

Vadodara: This 37-year-old doctor has been put through the Covid grind – both at SSG Hospital and GMERS Medical College and Hospital, Gotri – the two major Covid designated hospitals of Vadodara.
After he was sent to Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital on deputation last month, he even had a close brush with the dreaded contagion. But that helped Dr Suketu Dave, who was part of the first batch of 19 resident doctors who were on deputation at Ahmedabad, emerge even stronger.
Donning his life-saving personal protection equipment (PPE) kit again, he jumped into the battle zone inside Ahmedabad civil hospital’s Covid ICU, treating all critically ill patients. “I have had a chance of working at all the major hospitals and I have seen all kinds of patients – from normal, asymptomatic to symptomatic and critically ill,” said Dave, who served at the isolation ward of civil hospital between May 6 and May 12.
Two days after he returned to Vadodara, the resident doctor who finished his MBBS from Surat and is pursuing MD (medicine) from Baroda Medical College, started showing symptoms and tested positive of Covid-19. After finishing his home quarantine period Dave joined duty at SSG Hospital on June 16 where he was assigned duty at non-Covid ward.
Since June 21, however, he has re-joined Covid duties at the 1,200-bedded civil hospital in Ahmedabad.
“At times, it gets a little testing when a young patient you are hoping will recover, suddenly succumbs,” said Dave, whose Covid duty will end on Tuesday. On Wednesday, doctor’s day, Dave will return to quarantine firming his resolve to fight the virus even more vigorously.