We at IWI can’t tell you how glad we are to be back with The IWI Debate, after a hiatus, tiding over some gloomy months, for us, for the country and for the world! We trust you are safe and are receiving the help that you need to handle the pandemic and we wish better days ahead for all!

It was only appropriate that we catch up with Doctors and COVID Survivors on priority. It was an insightful and inspiring chat between Head of Content and Collaborations at IWI – Anupama Jain, Dr Shibal Bhartiya, Dr Tripti Sharan, Eesha Chakraborty and Renuka Choudhary on Saturday. In case you missed this edition of The IWI Debate, check it out Here

The burden on the doctors

The doctors expressed their helplessness with the onslaught of the second wave and the demands for resources that it brought. They also spoke about the tremendous grief and loss they had to share with patients and their own friends and family. It was taxing on their mind, they admitted, attending to patients while their family was also impacted, including the doctors themselves. There is no more appropriate sentence than “Holding on to the last bit of sanity” to describe what they said! The doctors had to reschedule the way they worked. OPDs / Deliveries and pregnancies had to be attended to simultaneously. Above all, they had to get used to the difficulty of working with a PPE! “Nothing in our career prepared us for this virus! We had to go back to our books!” Dr Tripti explained.

About Post-COVID Issues

Speaking about post-COVID issues, Dr Shibal spoke about Chronic fatigue syndrome and breathlessness i.e. respiratory consequences of COVID and how it tends to last for a long time. But the second part is where the recovering patient has persistent palpitations , impact on the lungs and heart, pins and needles, brain fog etc, different manifestations of stress response. She stressed the importance of Human Connections during this period. “Social distancing is going to be the only thing that is going to save us! Beware of indiscriminate use of vitamins and zinc” Dr Shibal says.

The Survivors’ Tale

Eesha, Rashmi and Anupama herself recalled their battle with COVID. “Help poured in from unexpected quarters and surprised me” said Eesha. The memory of the few weeks of illness, the survivors say, is very faint. The visuals of death, people collapsing and the suffering haunt them. “Will I go back alive from the hospital? Will I be able to walk?” were nagging questions for Eesha. Rashmi recalled the trying journey to look for oxygen / concentrators for her parents, as every member of her family fell ill.

And are there any guidelines for women?

Dr Tripti, who is a Gynaecologist, pointed out that, since every system in the body is affected by COVID, the ovaries and uterus are also likely to be impacted! She also suggests that the best time to vaccinate girls is ideally around fifteen or less. It is also an effective way to protect from cervical cancer.

Our privilege and not the healthcare system has helped us survive!

Public Healthcare needs to improve, considering how hospitals collapsed in the second wave, the doctors opined.” We need to start expecting the government to provide quality healthcare and treatment. Doctors need not face the brunt of the failure of the country’s healthcare system.  We have to start speaking truth to power, highlighting the fact that the PHCs had no facility to support us in this situation, leaving the onus on the bigger hospitals!” Dr Shibal said.

Let us hope we get the reforms soon, for the benefit of one and all.

IWI would like to thank Dr Shibal and Dr Tripti for their relentless service and for taking some time out of their busy schedules to be with us! We also extend our gratitude to the entire medical fraternity!

And Eesha, Rashmi and Anupama, Wish you Health, Wealth and Happiness!

By

Nithya Rajagopal

Team IWI