When the world is going through pain, some people step up and try to alleviate it. They go out of their way, they do things they are not obligated to.
Just like this actor from Mumbai, who is putting her nursing degree to use during these trying times. In an interview given to Humans of Bombay, she said:
The day after lockdown was announced, I set out to find a hospital to volunteer in. I had a nursing degree, but took up acting after it. Still, when COVID-19 broke out, I’d never felt stronger about volunteering as a nurse. I finally found an isolation ward in Balasaheb hospital.
She started taking care of the patients, one of which is a 7-month-old baby whose mother and grandmother also tested positive for coronavirus.
I began working as a nursing officer the next day. That meant ensuring patients took their medicines and ate on time and being in the ward all day. My first patient was a 7-month-old baby. When I saw him, playing in his crib, oblivious of what was going on, my heart melted. Since then, he’s been my biggest motivation to go to work.
She says there is a downside to nursing, though: Getting attached with the patients.
Since I joined, I’ve gotten emotionally attached to the patients. I talk to them and they tell me that’s the highlight of their day. Recently, an older patient kept saying, “They’re waiting for me at home. I want to go home”. And I’d say, “Uncle if you don’t eat how will you go?” But one day, when I got to work, his bed was empty. One of the patients told me he’d passed away just moments ago.
However, difficult times have only made her more determined as she says in the end ‘this too shall pass’. Hats off to people like her, showing courage and taking care of others in these testing times. You can read the complete story here: