Doctors, nurses, officers or warriors, they could be in any form but they are surely risking their lives to the serve the humanity.
To recognize their efforts and send a message of appreciation, we are running a series on responsible humans. The least we can do is to cheer them is to keep ourselves positive, motivated and locked at homes.
Those who were facing the corona virus patients from exit gates of airport to an isolation ward of a hospital– the sense of commitment and duty becomes the biggest dope.
Abdul Rehman, an ambulance technician, waits outside the Jaipur airport, for suspected patients who have to be taken to the hospital.
For him, the call of duty is paramount
When you are In the frontline of risk, the family members are the most affected people. You may feel the pressure of shifting yourself from such a duty as some family members may force you to do so or you may be susceptible of carrying infection back home to easily infect the rest of the family members. The duty is tough, so is your ability to stay positive.
Abdul Rehman also faced such a situation when he was expected to tell his employers to post him elsewhere, when his wife came to know that he was deployed to ferry suspected corona virus patients from airport to hospital, but Rehman, a 33 year old ambulance technician, instead of shying away from his duty, comforted his wife, soothed her nerves and assured her there was no reason for her to worry. It’s not that he, as an ambulance technician was upbeat about the task himself. He had his own apprehensions but the call of duty was paramount.
Before the outbreak of coronavirus, Rehman was carrying mostly accident victims to hospitals. Giving first aid to victims, checking vitals such as pulse and blood pressure, and drawing up patient-care reports is what the emergency medical technician’s usual day involved. The ambulance service—known as 108 in common parlance, he is part of is coordinated from a centralised call centre in the district.
For now, Rehman is stationed outside the airport, waiting for suspected patients who have to be taken to the hospital. Doctors have trained him in the protocol to be observed with suspected patients of coronavirus. The medical team at the airport informs him as soon as they identify a suspected passenger.
While the passenger is brought to the ambulance, Rehman wears protective gear and covers the ambulance bed with a sheet. No contact and a one-metre distance to be maintained at all times—the instructions are abundantly clear. On the way, he asks patients their medical history and notes down symptoms. After dropping the suspected patient to the hospital’s isolation ward, the ambulance is sent for fumigation. After fumigation, it is shut for four-five hours. Rehman, meanwhile, discards the kit and bathes at the ambulance yard, which has rooms and toilet facilities for drivers and technicians.
The first time he took a bath after ferrying a suspected patient he rubbed himself profusely, he laughs. “I was very hesitant the first time I took a suspected patient to the hospital. I feared getting infected,” says Rehman, a father of two. The doctors, however, assured him that if he wore the safety kit properly, there was nothing to fear. That, and more trips, helped put his fears to rest.
“One feels good too. If not anything else, I am doing this for my country,” he says with quiet resolve