Rising panic and fear
For most people, seeing COVID-19 at their doorstep triggered a panic, and sent many into a frenzy of buying and hoarding. Once again, we proved that people everywhere are equally stupid, as toilet paper began to vanish from stores across the globe. And yet, this again was a moment when some people began to experience a false sense of immunity: ”I have enough food, money, and toilet paper to last me for 2 years. Why should I be worried?”
When the numbers of COVID-19 deaths in Europe were first reported, the fear became palpable. In Italy and Spain, towns were locked down, and tens of thousands of people (mostly older adults) have died. It was truly heartbreaking to see people alone and at their weakest with no family members allowed to be by their side.
A glimmer of hope
Despite all of this, there were superheroes—the nurses, physicians, allied health professionals, first responders, store workers, restaurant workers, delivery personnel, and others who didn’t have the option of staying home, or who volunteered to help people in need. In moments like this, the actions of these individuals give us hope, reminding us that the human spirit is resilient, and that we will get through this.
A rotation in the emergency department during COVID-19
As a psychiatry resident, it is unlikely that my peers and I face the same risks as our colleagues in other medical specialities. But those of us who happened to be in medical rotations during this time have had the chance to experience this very closely. My personal experience, albeit a brief one, of working in an emergency department with suspected COVID-19 patients has been sobering. Watching nurses and physicians walk into a room wearing personal protective equipment, fearful inside but with a reassuring smile for a scared patient, definitely was one of the most compelling moments of my life. Living in a distant land, with my daughter, wife, parents, and extended family back home in Nepal, has made this even more challenging.
We will overcome this as we have overcome previous challenges in the past. There will be death and chaos, but we will prevail. The only thing is to ask ourselves: How do we want to continue living when this is over?