Asma Akter
Corona has created a sense of panic around the world. The whole country is on lockdown. All government and non-government offices are closed. No acceptable vaccine or cure has been discovered yet. Relatives do not dare go near the infected person, there is no one to take dead bodies, or arrange the funeral. Everything is being done quickly, in a silent, special arrangement. Without the presence of relatives!
Many doctors and nurses around the world have already been infected with coronavirus while providing health care services and many have died. It is horrible situation. But as a nurse, I have to provide medical care to patients at all risk levels. The hospital where I work is one of the hospitals designated by the government to treat Covid-19 patients.
Not just me, many people like me are working in different hospitals while risking their lives. The profession, that is nursing, is a thankless job! As it is our responsibility to serve people, no one values our work. Even though our work is not comparable to that of doctors, are we less at risk than them? Do we work with less sincerity?
But still everyone knows how much our work is valued! Nurses are always neglected. There are many poems, stories, novels about the greatness of the doctors, but the service of the nurses probably does not earn any recognition. This society probably calculates grades even when it comes to giving respect!
However, I am on duty at the hospital for 3 days today. We have to stay here all week. We can't go out. We are eating and sleeping inside the hospital. After 7 days, I will return home finishing my duty. This is actually done for the safety of everyone. There is no alternative.
Thinking about my duty and helplessness of patients, I can overcome hard work, panic, death and loneliness, but whenever I think of my children, the whole world becomes dark. The seconds feel like a year, the minutes feels like a decade and the hours seems like a century long!
Like all working mothers, my children get to spend little time with me. My child feels upset and I feel unsatisfied as a mother. However, in the hopes of building a safe and secure future for my child, I have to suppress the troubles and go to office regularly. Despite the occasional hardships, we never encountered such a dire situation.
My whole generation has never faced the fear of death in such a manner before. Everyone is uncertain about the future. People are living in fear of something happening to their children. But I still believe our collective fight to stop the spread of the virus will succeed. Maybe the vaccine for the virus will be invented soon. We will be able to go back to our normal lives once more. Therefore, instead of falling into despair we should become more careful.
We are taking a huge risk and working outside of home to keep others safe. Therefore, we should all think about our children and stay at home for few days. If we can all do that we will undoubtedly succeed.
Translated by Synthia Kainath Nur