Health care workers are at the forefront of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Daily, they have to be in the midst of the war against an invisible enemy, while trying to maintain a normal life at home. CANDICE BEZUIDENHOUT spoke to one of the Bay’s health care heroes to find out how the pandemic has changed her daily work and home life.
In six years working in a Nelson Mandela Bay clinic, never in her wildest dreams did this 36-year-old nurse imagine a day when she wouldn’t be able to immediately hug her children after returning home from a long shift.
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the nurse, who prefers to remain anonymous, has to go home and tell her young children from afar that they have to wait before running up and planting kisses all over her face or throwing their arms around her legs.
Before they can even come close, she has to get rid of all of her clothing, take a shower and sanitise. Only then does she feel that it is a little safer to spend time with her family.
“My worst fear is that one of my children might contract the virus and that I won’t even be able to go to hospital with them.
“Another fear is that my mother might get infected with Covid-19 and that she’ll never come back to us.
“This is something I am afraid of on a daily basis, even for myself,” the 36-year-old said.
She admits that working in the front line of the pandemic is very difficult and that it’s really taking its toll on health staff in general.
According to her, it is much worse since the symptoms of the virus have changed.
They are now monitoring symptoms such as body aches that might seem insignificant but could also be an indication that a person has the virus.
“You worry every single day because any patient that enters the clinic could be positive. You constantly have to think about everything twice, especially when it comes to following hygiene protocols before going home to your family.
“At the clinic, we wash and sanitise our hands regularly and wear plastic aprons to prevent any droplets on our clothes. We always wear our masks and make sure that the aprons cover every inch of our bodies for maximum protection.”
Although she follows health and safety protocols daily, she once had a scare that left her completely horrified: she had been in direct contact with a patient that tested positive for Covid-19.
“It was a Monday. I remember it vividly. I arrived at work and was told that a patient I saw twice the previous week, had tested positive.
“It was terrifying because you have to touch a patient when you work with them.”
She said that she became so paranoid, she even started displaying symptoms of the virus herself.
“I was convinced that I had Covid-19. I was tested and waiting for the results was the worst.
“The uncertainty over my future and fear for my family were just so overwhelming because if I had the virus, the chances were great that they would have it too,” she added.
“My mind is constantly in overdrive. Whenever I suspect that a patient has the virus, they are already quite sick and I start to panic about the test, how long it will take before the results are ready, how many people the patient has been in contact with and how I also have to go for a test again,” she said.
“It’s very difficult to just switch off and forget about the dangers even when your shift ends, but I share everything with my husband and he helps to carry the load.”
According to the nurse, something that adds to the load is the fact that staff at the clinic feel unsafe. She claims that the facility was not sanitised after they had their first positive case and that there was still a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE).
“We clean the surfaces and wash floors with home-made sanitiser that we actually can’t afford to make.
“The whole pandemic is draining because you have to work so much harder. We can’t take leave and have to push through even when we’re sick.”
She said what makes the situation even more difficult for nurses is that some people are informed, but refuse to take the virus seriously. Nurses have to continuously educate patients about the dangers of Covid-19 but some don’t want to listen.
“It is stressful to always wonder if today is the day you’ll contract the virus and it breaks my heart to hear that a colleague, even from another medical facility, has tested positive.
“We are here to help and protect, but are being eradicated by the virus.”
Although the situation is tough for nurses and other healthcare professionals, she sympathises with patients who have the virus and their families.
“Our thoughts are always with them and our hearts go out to the ones who have lost their lives. At the end of the day, we took an oath to help, protect and serve and this is what we’ll continue doing no matter what.”
