When the clinic where I work
continued to operate despite the lockdown, I felt so happy (and scared at the
same time). I told myself, “Wow, I’m
going to die… for a good cause... exiting this world debilitated and intubated.” Oh well.
That private clinic where I
moonlight sees a lot of patients in a day.
Farting usually is the only rest time.
I had a child patient
suffering from asthma with pneumonia (my diagnosis after examination). I told the mother to bring the child to the
hospital. She replied, “Wala kaming
sasakyan. Walang tricycle sa
lockdown. San namin dadalhin anak
namin? (We don’t have our own car.
No tricycle is available during lockdown. Where will we bring our child?)” Something detonated in my heart.
I smiled at the mother, wrote
her a prescription and reminded her to seek help from the barangay in case her
child worsens.
Such a moment reminds me of
why we are doctors, why we took medicine in the first place. When I was young, I’d always wanted to die
for a cause. Now that I’m in my 50s, I’d
rather live for one.
Staying home or practising
medicine (or not) during the pandemic is alright.
COVID is not anyone’s
personal cause. We’re all in this
together.
