“Like A War Zone But Instead Of Deafening Gunshots The Patients’ Loud Coughs Reverberated” – A Dubai Health Worker’s Story
We’re living in a pandemic, but for the majority who have been working from home for two months, you might forget the invisible enemy still looms.
Does the threat of the virus feel real to you? Are you following the instructions laid out by UAE Government, who overnight increased fines due to ‘irresponsible’ and ‘reckless’ behaviour by certain individuals?
A harrowing report, direct from a COVID-19 nurse working at a Dubai Hospital is a must-read, so we can truly understand what Dubai health workers are facing on the front line each and every day. Thank you to Tim Escusa, a Dubai health worker, for sharing your story.
The area was like a warzone
“I was originally a Neuro-surgical and orthopaedic trauma nurse. Duty had been busy those days. We thought we already had one of the busiest units in the hospital… until the pandemic happened.
Our ward was closed temporarily for renovation and I was sent to the Emergency Departmentment to take care of PUI’s (patients under investigation) and COVID positive patients. I won’t forget how I felt on that day. The area was like a warzone but instead of deafening gunshots, the patients’ loud coughs reverberated in the ambience.”
Sweat drenching from your head to your toes
“I was in full PPE’s, praying that what I’ve worn was enough to shield me from the invisible enemy. It was not comfortable at all. Ask one COVID nurse and the experience would all be the same: sweat drenching from your head to your toes (literally) and you couldn’t do anything about it, pressure sores from the mask and the difficulty to breathe with the tight N95 mask on.
After every shift, you’d feel as if you’ve spent days inside the area, when in fact, you have just been there for 8 hours.”
Together, we can end this war
“Coffee breaks and toilet breaks were not a thing anymore. We wouldn’t want the PPE’s to be wasted.
I thought to myself: this will all come to pass, this will all end soon. But boy, was I wrong. Months later, we are still on the same battlegrounds. Patients gr0w in numbers. But the nurses also grow stronger. It was difficult physically, emotionally and mentally, but the nurses are the bravest soldiers in this field nowadays.
Nothing is more fulfilling, whenever we send our patients home
All the lessons and theories we learned back in our university days truly helped us figure out the patient care to tend to our COVID patients today. And nothing is more fulfilling whenever we send our patients home.
Together, we can end this war. Our government is doing its best to contain the situation. We are here to fight alongside everyone. Thank you for all the support!”
