I used to mentor a very athletic college student who did not like the undergraduate course he's taking. I told him to shift out of that course and take B Sports Science as a premed.
He was able to enter and finish the BSS program, joined the wrestling and weight training club in the University and breezed through his college classes.
He's now a doctor. Yesterday, we reconnected via messenger. Despite not hearing his voice, his messages exhibits exhaustion.
Two of his messages yesterday were these:
Totoo. Meron nga po ako isang patient buong family nila na admit. Di inakala ng mag asawa na last time na nila magkikita sa ER. namatay yung husband.
Actually ang hirap nga po eh kasi kahit lahat ng standard treatment nabigay naman may cases tlga na mabilis mag deteriorate. We cant spend too much time with the families din kasi madaming patients pa na iba. Malala tlga yung impact ng covid na to. Especially for families that choose to pull out mechanical ventilation kasi kulang na sa pang gastos. May times tlga nag aaway sila or may sisihan. Best effort nlang tlga to comfort and console them
While many of us ponder about existential questions or engage in useless online debates and heckling, there are exhausted medical workers like my friend who sees death everyday.
If you know medical frontliners, be kind to them. Send them some short notes of appreciation.
Ang hirap basahin ng mga balita ngayon. Ingat palagi Sir OP!
ReplyDeleteIngat ka rin lagi, Yccos.
DeleteBlogs like this gives stories so much more weight. From the brief background to the italicized formatting of your friend's testimony. It hits hard. Social media has killed our empathy, particularly the perceived value of engagement with the hopes of going viral. The monstrosity.
ReplyDeleteKaunti lang makakabasa sa blog natin, but one thing we have is a sense of permanence and community.