Coronavirus: How has it affected you?

Dr. Olaitan Abimbola

Dr Olaitan Abimbola is a Senior Registrar in the Internal Medicine Department of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu.

gw: Being on the front line, how has it been for you?

Well it has been okay. Being in the profession entails taking care of patients whether COVID-19 positive or negative. There have been other serious, contagious ailments like Ebola and Lassa Fever in the past and God has helped us even without knowing their statuses prior to their diagnoses.

gw: Personally, how has it been for you as an individual, how do you handle the fears and anxiety?

For me, there is no anxiety. I have been the focal person during the Lassa Fever outbreak in Ogun State, therefore I have experiences on how patients and medical personnel feel and what they go through. So, for COVID-19 I had prepared my heart and mind before it entered Nigeria as I knew I would most likely be called to help in managing them. Yes, the patients are usually scared because of the uncertainty of a novel disease, but so far, the patients I have managed have done well.

gw: How has your faith/ belief helped you?

As a child of God, I know that God is there to keep us, according to the word of God which says “no disease of the Egyptians will not come upon us” (Exodus 11:7). My colleagues and I (majority of whom are also Christian) have been proclaiming those scriptures regularly. When the COVID-19 outbreak started, many people were pasting and quoting Psalm 91 here and there, but it’s one thing to quote in fear, and another to know your place in Christ. We believe that now that we are in the frontline helping people to survive, He is also there with us. This has been our source of strength. It is not just the materials that we put on or the things that we think we can use to build our immunity but the immunity we have in Christ as He is the Greatest Physician, working on our behalf and being our advocate. We pray and read the word of God together, we avoid listening to news of doctors and nurses who have died, but we believe in the word of God that says “we shall live” and that is what is helping us.

gw: What advice do you have for us generally?

I just want to advise everybody that we need to keep calm. We have not recorded any causality or mortality at my center. All of them have survived to the glory of God. Presently, we are about discharging some, and some have been discharged already. We believe based on what we have seen, that the mortality is quite low in those without comorbidities, but the rate of spread is fast. So, for children of God out there, we want to encourage you to stay at home. Those who were COVID-19 positive had contact with people, so the stay at home order actually works in curtailing the spread. Also, avoid listening to negative, terrible news flying around on social media, get information from credible sources. Ensure the rules of hygiene: frequent hand washing with soap and water, cough into elbows and sanitize. gw

“I just want to advise everybody that we need to keep calm.… avoid listening to negative, terrible news flying around on social media, get information from credible sources.”

Dr. Idowu Akinsanmi

gw: How has the pandemic affected you and your work?

“If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’ll spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about a solution” Albert Einstein. have been given an opportunity to make a difference. For that I was grateful. I was grateful that somehow, the education that I acquired over a course of decades was useful in the pandemic.

I have always believed that a properly defined problem is comparatively easier to solve, hence my love for all things diagnostic. With a background education in Molecular medicine, I have designed several diagnostic assays, ranging from sickle cell anemia and beta thalassemia to more dermatology pathology detection tests. A request from my employer to participate in putting a COVID-19 detection test together was not a stretch, but the timeline to finish was incomprehensible. I worked harder in a 3 week period than I did in 3 months. At the end of most days, I was tired, but still overwhelmingly grateful. I was grateful for my wellbeing. I was grateful for a husband who was my biggest cheerleader. I was grateful for stable kids who did their school work and kept their grades up in spite of my absence. I was grateful for friends and family who held me up in prayers. I was grateful for a team of “skilled workmen” that came alongside and worked with a passion that was definitely not money motivated.

As more and more people in the United States got infected and fatalities increased, it became clear to me that I Finally, I am grateful to a God that is absolute light in darkness, the master problem solver, and the inspiration that gives understanding. gw

Ebere Nicholas

Ebere Nicholas has been a nurse for three years. Her specialty is in General Medicine (infections control). She is married with three children and lives in Dallas, Texas.

gw: What was your initial reaction to the pandemic?

I went on vacation and came back in the middle of the pandemic, I got to work and to my surprise, things had gotten so serious, our entire protocol had changed, and almost overnight, it was as if I was in a different hospital with all the changes that came.

gw: How has your faith impacted the way you view your work?

The first day I was terrified; nothing prepared me for this. There wasn’t much information at first but progressively it got better and I began to look at the patients as my family members. prayers for my friends and family, and I trust in God to heal my patients and protect my coworkers and I.

gw: Was there ever a moment you wanted to quit your job?

There have been times after managing COVID patients that I was tempted not to go back to work. The worst day was when my first patient died of COVID-19; I was tempted to give up on being a nurse. Mentally, I had already quit the job as I had the difficult task of informing the patient’s family of their family member’s death. Luckily, I was off work for four days and during this period, I had a change of heart and returned to work.

My faith in God has always strengthened me, I always ask for

gw: What is most difficult about being a nurse during this pandemic?

My pain is the lack of adequate protective gear. This makes the work frightening as we need to reuse equipment at times which increases the risk of infection for nurses. In addition to this, the deteriorative nature of the disease is hard to watch. However, one thing I am reassured by is the fact that God is not surprised by

“one thing I am reassured by is the fact that God is not surprised by this, thus I am reassured that He is in control.”

this, thus I am reassured that He is in control. gw

Life in Different Shades

Kehinde Adollo

Life in different shades.......... There’s no doubt we now see life in different shades Stay safe has become the new form of greeting Stay home has become the new norm Social distancing is the new way of communicating Virtual lifestyle has become the new boom Handwashing is now an essential way of living Face mask is the latest clothing accessory Doctors and Nurses became the world’s super heroes Prayer is now the only weapon Families and friends reunite and now recognise they need each other more than they thought. The world has come together for the first time ever.

..... will life ever be the same? it may not but we certainly work towards making it better. If we strive to achieve this goal. Look after each other, our world and indeed ourselves better then who knows? The world might surely become a better place.

It’s time to make our service to humanity and living for eternity the ultimate goal.