“Even as a doctor, looking at the wrath of the Coronavirus on our people feels scary on so many levels. It stems from witnessing both extremes to the scenario- with one bunch not understanding the depth of this reality till date and taking things casually to others losing family and loved ones back to back.

What’s more saddening nowadays is seeing medical professionals get beat up by the public, stating their inefficiency to attend to one particular patient. It’s disrespectful because no one out there has the slightest clue of all that, we frontline warriors are going through. Staying away from family for months, witnessing deaths every single day to being in our PPE kits for hours, sweating profusely, sometimes without removing it even for water or loo breaks are just the start of our concerns. Not to mention, we government doctors are literally responsible for hundreds of patients a day. So assuming we spare around 10 minutes to each one, there’s still not enough time.

Now personally, my journey started in 2020 when the government rolled out a list calling for doctors on COVID duty. Hailing from Pudukottai, I signed up immediately and parted ways with my family for 8 months straight. You see, coming from a family of doctors, I was doing well for myself in my native but the sheer willingness to go and serve is what pulled me to Chennai. And I spent my time here, working tirelessly, day and night, before ultimately contracting the virus during a short break to visit my parents.

And that experience was again a huge eye-opener- not just because I was going through the beats of the infection but also since I had no staff free to assist me and was completely alone even while taking medicines in my ward. It hit me hard and further made me realize the intensity of it all!

But what’s shocking nevertheless is being at the receiving end of so many calls from people even today, who just refuse to get themselves checked and only wanted my ‘suggestions’ on the medication they could possibly take. I find this behaviour very irresponsible, especially since such calls are made only after symptoms have already peaked, thus exposing so many others too to the virus! Plus there’s never a ‘standardized’ cure, especially when all our bodies react differently from one another!

I mean people are betting on their lives without realizing the intensity of the scenario even after two massive waves. And the carelessness of such folks often leads to many other innocent, protocol-abiding citizens catching the infection and even succumbing to it in the process! That’s in fact the sole reason why I started offering free COVID consultations whenever I’m able to spare time. Hopefully, we see a positive change in people’s attitude eventually aiding us towards faster recovery as a nation!”