The ‘silent fighters’ in the fight against COVID-19

In the book titled "The western region of the city" by Assoc. Prof. Le Minh Khoi, deputy director of the Intensive Care Center (ICU) for COVID-19 patients, the author says, “The city has returned to normal. For me, memories are not the past, especially the memoirs about a period filled with such traumatic events. I'm still living with that memories, not to be sad, but to honour the simplest things we have now.”

Unforgettable memories

This lunar New Year holiday (Tet) - the biggest festival of Vietnamese people, frontline workers have still worked tirelessly all day and night to combat the pandemic and to protect people’s health to ensure everyone can celebrate a joyful holiday.

On the last days before the Tet holiday, the working schedule for medical workers at the Binh Chieu Ward Medical Station in Thu Duc City remained tight. Dr. Le Ba Kong revealed that all healthcare workers at the station have become used to a different Tet over the past two years due to a growing number of emergency calls from COVID-19 patients.

“The number of emergency calls has decreased significantly in recent times, and we are no longer obsessed by working days starting from 3 a.m. and ending at 3 a.m. the next morning as seen during the height of the outbreak,” said Dr, Kong.

In early July 2021, Binh Chieu ward recorded 100 COVID-19 cases each day as doctors and nurses were forced to work all night to save the lives of COVID-19 patients.

“There was a shortage of medical supplies, ambulances, and personnel and we sometimes helplessly watched patients die right in front of us,” Dr. Kong recalled.

From mid-July onwards, the situation had begun to improve. In the midst of peak pressure caused by the pandemic, the station received medical supplies and personnel support from other localities. In addition, the hotline number 1022 and mobile medical stations were also set up to support the fight.

Especially, medicine packages and oxygen generators were fully provided for COVID-19 patients. Mobile oxygen-production stations were also set up to support F0 cases at home.

With timely assistance, Binh Chieu Medical Station gradually began to function as a COVID-19 treatment facility.

However, as the southern city reopened after months of lockdown, the number of F0 cases at home increased rapidly, resulting in a heavy burden placed on public medical stations once again, Dr. Kong said.

“Although work was less stressful than at the peak time, we had to work around the clock to treat F0 cases, deploy vaccination, and run other healthcare services,” Dr. Kong shared.

Fatigue felt among healthcare workers had gradually subsided as more people had been fully vaccinated, with cases now showing milder symptoms and a general decline in the mortality rate, he added.

Meanwhile, Dr. Phan Ngoc Huy of the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Dermatology recalled days and nights working at field hospital No 12 as a team of five doctors had to treat nearly 200 patients, all of whom were in critical condition with underlying diseases.

“Sometimes, two or three patients suffered a cardiac arrest and on-site doctors had to mobilise other healthcare workers to provide an electric shock and attempt to resuscitate the patients. Although we were saddened to see patients pass away every day, we consistently encouraged each other to fight to the end,” said Dr. Huy.

Amid these challenging times, patients who seemed to have little chance of survival were discharged from the hospital, helping doctors and nurses to regain confidence.

With Ho Chi Minh City gradually recovering from the pandemic, Dr. Huy returned to the hospital to continue his daily routine work, but his colleagues at the field hospital still took turns to treat F0 patients, and are now receiving Omicron cases.

“The city is returning to new normal but my colleagues are still working hard there to minimize the fatalities,” Dr. Huy stressed. 

 Light at the end of the tunnel

As local people were going to celebrate the lunar New Year holiday, Assoc. Prof. Le Minh Khoi, deputy director of the Intensive Care Center (ICU) for COVID-19 patients, recalled memories of his colleagues, describing them as “silent fighters” in the COVID-19 fight. He felt a sense of emptiness at saying goodbye to his colleagues who have overcome the most challenging and hardest period of his medical career.

On lunar New Year's Eve 2022, the hospital’s wards were still lit as medical staff stayed on duty to take care of patients. Dr. Khoi visited each treatment area, extending New Year wishes to patients who also expressed their gratitude for the round-the-clock care given to them by the medical team.

Outside of the lobby, many doctors and nurses gathered together to enjoy glittering fireworks; they firmly held hands together and sang songs to welcome in the New Year.

“For a person who has gone through tough days, there is no other wish than that the COVID-19 fight will come to an end very soon and life will then return to normal,” said Dr. Khoi.

For more than three months of working relentlessly in the pandemic epicentre, Dr. Khoi went through different levels of emotions, from sorrow and anxiety to happiness when doctors saved a patient’s life. However, the mixed feelings felt in the recovery room inspired the professional to release his book "The western region of the city".

The book tells moving stories which happened at the ICU Center for COVID-19 patients in the western region of Ho Chi Minh City. It was published by Youth Publishing House in early December 2021.

Though pressure from the battle in the city’s western region has already eased, doctors and nurses remain ready to fight against the emergence of the Omicron variant.

Their continued dedication and sacrifices over months have brought them greater hope, with the light at the end of the tunnel now just a few steps away.