Coronavirus has shown that man is absolutely helpless, despite all the claims of conquering the world, achieving amazing advances in technology, controlling world through science, boasting of the plans to settle down in the Mars.
As over a lakh perished and 1.5 million struggled, we also saw a lots of stories of sacrifice – finally man is reaching out to his brother to help.
Here are a few such amazing stories of sacrifice in the days of corona:
- Priestly duty till the last breath
A priest of Catholic church is destined to serve and follow his master Jesus who died for others. An Italian priest Don Giuseppe Berardelli also did the same. While battling the deadly disease, he donated his respirator to a younger patient. The 72-year-old was the priest for the parish of Casnigo, a small village just 40 miles north east of Milan, one of the epicentres of virus in Italy.
He died in hospital in Lovere, Bergamo. The hospital authorities said he refused to use a respirator his parishioners had bought for him, and instead gave it to a younger patient he did not know.
In an obituary on Araberara, an Italian news website, one healthcare worker said: “He was a priest who listened to everyone, he knew how to listen, whoever turned to him knew that he could count on his help.”
- 90-year-old from Belgium
A 90-year-old woman in Belgium died after refusing critical treatment for the coronavirus, but only after insisting and asking the doctors to save her ventilator for younger patients.
Suzanne Hoylaerts from Binkom, near Lubbeek, was first brought when she began experiencing a loss of appetite and shortness of breath. She was later hospitalized and tested positive for COVID-19. Hoylaerts reportedly told doctors: “I don’t want to use artificial respiration. Save it for younger patients. I already had a good life.”
She died few days ago. She had a low oxygen concentration and required critical treatment. She died on March 22, two days after she was admitted to the hospital. She hald also some good words for her daughter Judith: Before she was placed in isolation, she reportedly told the daughter, “You must not cry. You did everything you could.”
- 100th doctor to die in Italy
Dr Samar Sinjab, 62-year-old Syrian woman, became the 100th victim among the medical personnel who got affected and died of corona. She is one among the several hundreds, including doctors and nurses, who died fighting to save others infected. In Italy alone, more than 8000 frontliners were affected.
She was born in Damascus and lived in Italy’s northeast Veneto region since 1994. She contracted the virus from a patient in the early stages of the pandemic and died after spending two weeks in an intensive care unit. She worked until her last days. The last WhatsApp message she sent was to one of her patients, according to the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
According to the Association of Foreign Doctors in Italy, there are about 20,000 doctors with ancestry in other countries. Of those, 3,700 come from the Middle East. Since the 1960s, young Arabs have studied medicine in Italy.
- Doctors in the Philippines
Philippines may be one of the few nations that has less than 5000 infections so far. But the country has witnessed a higher death rate, especially among the frontline warriors. At least 15 doctors died while saving others.
Dr. Raul Diaz Jara, an esteemed cardiologist and internist, was one of them and symbolised the spirit of those working for others. One of the best known in the field, he served as president of the Philippine Heart Association.
“Papa is a tower of strength and leadership and he served as the head of our family and a beacon of hope for many in the midst of this crisis. He knew the extensive battle he was facing and he kept on fighting… As an internist and cardiologist, he is passionate about the art and science of his work. He took pride in serving the Filipino people,” the Jara family wrote in a letter shared by PHA on Tuesday.
Several other frontliners have succumbed to COVID-19. Cardiologist Israel Bactol of the Philippine Heart Center, anesthesiologist Gregorio Macasaet III of Manila Doctors Hospital, and oncologist Rose Pulido of the San Juan de Dios Hospital have passed away recently, according to state news agency PNA.
- The youngest medic to die in UK
John Alagos, aged 23, a nurse at Watford General Hospital is the youngest medic in the U.K. to die from the virus. He died earlier this month after returning home following a 12-hour work shift at the hospital where he treated COVID-19 virus patients.
He reportedly had a high temperature and headache throughout the night before he died. “John was very popular and will be missed greatly,” a spokesperson for the hospital said.
His mother, Gina Gustilo, claimed her son was not allowed to leave the hospital any earlier than when his shift had ended due to staff shortage.
