Pretoria: Four young doctors - all University of Pretoria Medical School graduates - had no idea what was waiting for them when they relocated to Cape Town for their internships this year.
Kay Hendry, who is doing her second year, shares a house with a view of Table Mountain with Simone van Staden, Phillipa Essame and Byron Rudman, who are in their first year.
These young doctors are among many in hospitals across the country who have come face to face with Covid-19 in the various hospitals where they work.
The mountain, they say, grounds them, and is a welcome sight when they have a bit of time off from their hectic shifts. Debriefing and relaxing together when they can manage it goes a long way to keeping them upbeat, even on the most difficult days.
While the thought of contracting Covid-19 themselves is ever present, it became a reality for Essame, who tested positive this week.
To ensure that her housemates remain healthy and able to continue with their arduous tasks at the hospitals where they work, Essame has moved out temporarily to self-isolate.
She told the Pretoria News that Covid-19 was “a scary disease”, made worse by the fact that she now had it, and so much was still unknown.
“I have treated very sick people - some survive and some don’t. But luckily I’m young and healthy and I’m feeling positive,” she said.
She and her fellow internists speak daily about their work.
“We share the good and the bad. The house has been a massive support for me during this time and my housemates have become my family,” she said.
Hendry said that they had set up different “Covid docking stations” outside their front door. As they have to wear full personal protective equipment during their shifts, they are reluctant to take bathroom or quick lunch breaks, as they try to save the precious protective wear and not have to dress and undress more than necessary.
But when they get home, despite being tired and hungry, they spend time on personal sanitising as they understand the importance in preventing the spread of Covid-19.
They undress before stepping inside and go for a shower before changing into clean clothes.
Their clothes are washed in a washing machine, and they sanitise all their items, from keys and cellphones to their lunch boxes.
“We are adamant to keep the house a ‘clean zone’ but it’s also a ‘chill zone’.
“Home is the place where we chill out,” Hendry said.
Despite their precautions, they are not too surprised one of them has tested positive for Covid-19, considering they are working with it daily.
For Van Staden, what they are going through is not normal, but they have kept their focus and got used to it.
“You must just find a balance and letting go of your emotions is difficult,” she said.
To tell people that their loved one has died is a task that falls on the medical staff as families cannot visit. But to see patients getting better is a huge reward for them.
Hendry said tablet phones had been donated and these were used to connect patients to their families.
She said a family member of one of her patients called this week to hear how he was doing and she was able to link them on a video call.
“They were so happy to see each other and tears ran down their faces,” she said.
Pretoria News