Bearing witness to a pandemic BUPA | SANITAS
I kept my promise anonymous June 2020.
22
«I worked my normal shift, and up until then nothing out of the ordinary happened. We started the rounds and at that point, one of my patients started to deteriorate. We have seen how Covid can be like that - sometimes it advances very quickly. The doctor saw her and we started to prepare her for intubation and transfer to the intensive care unit; the doctor was talking to her and she seemed calm in spite of it all. When everyone had gone, she looked at me and said: When my time comes, please pray the Lord’s Prayer over me. I can’t deny that although I saw such scenes on a daily basis, I felt a lump rise in my throat as I told her: Don’t worry, I am sure you are going to be fine. She answered me: I am not afraid of dying, I am right with God, all I ask is that you pray over me when my time comes. I promised her that. If it wasn’t me, it would be one of my colleagues… I finished my shift, all the time wondering what would happen to her and how it would be. It’s strange, but I felt a huge burden of duty and could hardly speak. On my next shift, she was really unwell. When I could, I asked how she was and was told that she was unlikely to make it through the night. Her family had already been informed. They all had Covid too and couldn’t even come and see her through the screen. I finished my shift and went to see her. She was dying. I went in, touched her hand and prayed for her. I felt so much peace - I had kept my promise. I felt privileged to be on the front line». 23
