Anne Kathleen Garcia, Nurse.
At the start of the pandemic, it was difficult to look for anything that would give you even just an ounce of hope. If i remember correctly, it was late May when we first saw a consistent decrease in the number of patients admitted with covid. We were able to send home multiple recovered patients each day. Seeing the smiles on their faces was uplifting. Knowing that they could finally be reunited with their families after such a long time in isolation really warmed my heart. Being able to do that, being a part of that process, gave me hope that eventually, one day, we will be able to send our last covid-recovered patient back to the comforts of his or her home, and I continue to look forward to that day.
I am proud of my fellow nurses. Despite not being recognized, not being properly compensated at times, and sadly, sometimes not even receiving the amount of respect that they deserve, they still remain true to the profession. They willingly make sacrifices.
Dr. Maria Angelica Arada-Garcia, Ob-Gyn Chief Resident.
I have a very dear mentor, a friend of the family. I found out that she was rushed to the hospital, intubated, and diagnosed with severe Covid-19. And at that time, we knew only a miracle could save her.
We stormed the heavens with prayers and now thankfully, she is on the road to recovery. Though not fully back to her pre-Covid state, she is back to serving patients, serving the department, and the hospital. Indeed, life goes on for everyone.
These are extraordinary times and I can’t say when things will ever be back to normal but as doctors in the frontlines, we have to keep going and realizing that we are here with a purpose and hat purpose is to serve. And when we are able to deliver service to our patients efficiently, pandemic or no pandemic, there is that different kind of fulfillment on our part and the stronger desire to keep on doing what we do.
Duarte Nover, Medical Technologist.
At first, what drove me was I simply wanted to finish a day’s work without contracting the virus.
But as the weeks and months passed, I saw some realities of the situation – where you see people trying their very best to work and earn for their families despite the harsh conditions they face; the frontliners, the doctors, nurses, medtechs and other paramedics, who sacrifice their own health and safety for the wellbeing of the patients they are taking care of. That’s what gives me hope. That’s what gives me cause to be optimistic. That’s my source of strength and what keeps me going. The desire of our people to move forward without leaving people behind.
On a personal note, I draw strength from my loved ones, especially my wife; knowing that a big part of what I do is not only for our future, but for our children’s as well.