“I remember the first time I heard about COVID. A nurse at my hospital mentioned something about a virus in Wuhan that was spreading. I remember not evening batting an eye and thinking that’s unfortunate, but redirecting my attention to focus on the task at hand.
Less than a week later, I began to hear about the virus spreading. I was baffled by the statistics.
Do I stop going to work to protect my family? But then with that logic, wouldn’t everyone stop going to work?
I re-read the Hippocratic Oath as a reminder of my duties and obligations.
I knew I had to work, but I also knew I couldn’t jeopardize my family’s health. So within two days, I moved out. I left home packing a small duffle bag of essentials, not realizing how long it would be. I was oblivious enough to think that it was going to be two maybe four weeks at most. Now we’re eight weeks and counting.
The hospital was a different atmosphere altogether. Despite being significantly under capacity, it felt exponentially more tense and stressful. People were worried. As a young healthy individual, I was less concerned about myself, but I was gravely concerned for my immunocompromised and elderly colleagues. How noble they must be – would I have come to work if I was in their shoes?
My colleagues and I spent countless hours browsing the web and calling various suppliers for PPE. Who would have ever thought that a practicing physician in a first world country would ever be worried about their own safety? Or would need to spend their own money and time searching for essential PPE to do their job? But here we are, making history.”
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