Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 10: Today when the air is smeared with not just the virus but with haplessness and hopelessness, we have fearless people from all corners of the Union Territory come up, who are committed not just to their duty but also take this crisis as an opportunity to reaffirm the selflessness of human spirit and spread the larger message of “We will win”.
Today, the healthcare and frontline workers are racing against time to help the nation avert the crisis brought on by the second wave of coronavirus disease and these people, seeing the nation suffer have shown exemplary courage and empathy in not just discharging their mandated roles but doing so with a sense of conviction that has “the stubbornness to defeat the virus come what may” written all over it. These frontliners have emerged as the real unsung heroes, who have taken the bull by the horns and decided to dedicate themselves to their roles, most earnestly and have done so by fighting the virus on one hand and the gender stereotypes on another.
One such distinct fraternity draped in the excruciating PPE kit from head to toe is the regiment of Nurses who are discharging the most vulnerable of duties from the least vantage positions with the most humane heart and go about their business with skills, compassion and care.
One such individual is Meenu Sharma who is currently posted at the CMO Office, Shalamar Jammu and is busy with the regular Covid-testing that sometimes counts to 150-200 tests per day.She says that its not just the virus alone that she and her team has to fight but the abuse by the public, the inadequate working conditions, the long stretched work hours and gender stereotyping, all of which are the ills that plague their efficiency. Yet the very thought of staying true to the duty in this hour of crisis is what keeps her motivated and has been a satisfying factor running all through. Meenu, who was earlier posted at the PHC Kanhal, Tehsil Bishnah, Jammu has been busy with the covid-management duties for over a year now and recounts the horrors of the first wave when everyone was caught unawares.
Her team of four comprising Dr.Vasudha, Nurse Reeta Devi, DarshalLal and herself is often asked to venture into the public and the market places to conduct mass testing and the experience of wearing the tormenting yet indispensible PPE kit in the outdoor heat with the unruly public misbehaving and arguing at times, is discouraging but then the very commitment to the Hippocrates Oath that lays “service before self” keeps her going. She commutes 20 kilometers by her two wheeler and at times, she leaves her house in the early hours to walk 20 kilometers to her workplace where she wears the role of a soldier and an angel in one.
We have countless stories of real life heroes like Meenu and her team who have emerged as the guardian angels in these times of crisis and extended a helping hand to the people at a time when a mere virus has brought the entire machinery to its knees. Hearteningly, the faceless, forever besieged, but unfailingly generous fraternity has stood up to be counted at a time when the ceaseless grim tidings of the pain of bereavement, acute shortages in oxygen, medicines and hospital beds, the implosion of a nation and its healthcare system have made news . This unsung army of nurses continues to wage an unending battle – organizing hospital beds, arranging food and medical supplies, and providing comfort, conducting tests and yet managing their household chores well. These and many other acts of unadulterated altruism must be recognized in this hour of grief and helplessness. For they renew hope not just in humanity’s ability to remain empathetic as a species but also in the ability of people to rise above the divisions during a mortal crisis. Ordinary citizens have redeemed the nation and this spirit of sacrifice and cooperation needs to be emulated by everyone.
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