#COVIDDurga: Helping The Sick Recover Without Fear
Serving people for more than 16 years as a nurse, Kamalini Mallik has been able to garner a lot of appreciation for her sincerity and dedication towards her job. And during the Covid-19 pandemic, she has been relentlessly working to save people from the virus.
Kamalini said, “When the pandemic broke out, we were doing regular duty. But we were frequently given instructions on Covid awareness prevention measures. On June 20, we were assigned Covid-19 duty and after that, we had to leave our families. I was unsure about leaving my small kids and in-laws without making any proper arrangement. But at that time two things came to my mind, that God has given us a chance to save people and, we are leaving our loved ones to save the families of others.”
Initially, Kamalini had to face many challenges to deal with patients. “In April, I got my first chance to treat a Covid patient. Honestly, I was full of fear and afraid that I may get infected. But gradually, the fear went away and I started to treat patients with more confidence,” she said.
The two major challenges that the nurses faced were to convince patients to come to hospitals and strengthen their will power to fight the virus. “We have to do counselling of patients before their treatment. In this job all these months, I have never felt exhausted. Rather I have always felt that it is my duty to take care of someone in his/her difficult time. Most of the days, nurses only get 3-4 hours for rest. There are times when we spent the entire day taking care of patients. We never complain about the demanding work schedule as the happiness to see a patient recover is worth it,” she said.
Kamalini’s family comprises her two kids, husband and her in-laws. “I have two kids, one is 9 years old and the other is just 4. Earlier, both of them used to cry when I left home for work. But gradually they got acquainted with my work schedule. However, this has been the longest period I am spending without my kids and family,” she said in an emotional tone.
The Covid warrior has not seen her kids for the last four months. “By the time I am free, my kids are asleep. I talk to them through video chat but this is not possible every day. Sometimes they cry and want me to come home. I get very emotional but hide my tears and ask them to remain strong,” she said.
Kamalini takes care of her kids’ daily requirements over the phone. “I keep a track of their daily activities and encourage them to study hard.”
She expressed gratitude to her family for being supportive. “I am able to carry out my professional duties due to the whole-hearted support of my husband and in-laws. Besides, my organisation has stood beside me like a pillar of strength in these testing times and gave me the confidence to take up this difficult job,” Kamalini added.
