‘If we hesitate, who will fight this battle?’

Experience of an MBBS intern on COVID-19 duty

Vishü Rita Krocha
Kohima | May 30

When Alüne Tetseo dreamt of becoming a doctor, little did she imagine that she would be finishing her MBBS course in the midst of a pandemic. Enrolled at Indira Gandhi Government Medical College in Nagpur, Maharashtra, she is currently a medical intern and was assigned to work in the COVID ward during the peak of the second wave.

Alüne Tetseo, one of the famed Tetseo Sisters of Nagaland, had battled with her decision to return to Nagpur from a green zone to a red zone for her internship. “I felt helpless and scared at the same time. Far away from home, I was afraid of getting infected and considering the circumstances, even die, and just like that, my dream of being a doctor could end before my career takes off,” she told The Morung Express.

“But then, I knew that it was my duty. We were taught to save lives. If I, as a trained medico hesitate, then who will fight this battle? If not me today, who will be there for me or my people tomorrow?” she shared.

On joining her first COVID duty as a frontline warrior, she saw the many horrors of Coronavirus within 7 days of getting into the job.

“Some days were bleak with no time for us to even react to deaths of our patients because there were more critical patients to monitor or more critical patients coming in. Everyone worked round the clock like automatic reactions- quick, efficient and ever attentive to monitoring the conditions of the patients but frequently losing them anyway. Experiencing and witnessing scenes like that daily - you don't stay the same anymore,” she put across.

Stating that she especially felt attached to her elderly patients who reminded her so much of her own parents, she recounted tragic incidents like that of “the elderly aunty who could not get to drink her last cup of chai on the day she passed away or the uncle who cheerfully said he will be going home soon to be with his family but left in a body bag.”

Losing people like them and going through such heart-breaking experiences was a lot for her to handle. “Dealing with life and death on a daily basis is an occupational hazard after all, being a doctor, but the high volume is something I am yet to come to terms with. It made me even more worried for patients in our home state of Nagaland where we do not have enough infrastructure and support,” she stated.

Numerous deaths continued well into her second 7-day-COVID-duty, she highlighted. “I would come back to the hostel, depressed and my roommate would try to remind me that we did our best, and comfort me,” Alüne Tetseo shared.

She also recalled more incidents that tore her heart even as she narrated how “an elderly patient died just a few minutes before his son turned up with a fresh tiffin for him. Some patients did not have any visitors or caretakers because the whole family was sick and others had lost most of their family.”

However, with the passing of weeks, she said, “it did get better- thankfully, a slow decline in COVID cases. We lost many but many got better too, and were moved to the post COVID ward.” She was also posted there for a day. “I met patients now negative and recovering who remembered me from the critical COVID ward and told me they were happy to be going home soon. This was such a consolation,” she said.

Alüne Tetseo will be joining her third COVID duty soon. “I do hope we can help more patients with a better understanding of the disease and with strict lockdown and cooperation from the people, hopefully, completely break the spread,” she expressed.

With this pandemic, she also pointed out that “We now know we need access to better health systems and emphasis on health education. We need more doctors, health care workers and a complete overhaul of our health system and food production.”

“COVID has brought us all to a rethink and while we are losing lives, humanity has come to the forefront. Let us be kind and generous and keep the faith. Prayers will be answered,” she added.