Dr. Edwin Gomes has hugged almost 190 patients as a parting gesture while being discharged during the last three months. Appointed in 2012, he is the head of Goa Medical College’s medicine department.
He led a team of four doctors including Dr.Nidhi Prabhu, Dr.Harshal Mamlekar, Dr.Geetali Velip, and Dr.Masood Mujawar at the Margao-based ESI hospital, that is turned into the lone Covid-hospital of the state for the treatment of COVID-19 patients on March 29.
“I hug all the patients when they are discharged after testing negative,“ he mentioned. In his opinion, embracing these patients sends across a message to the society that they need to be accepted instead of being ostracized.
“At least 25 percent of the patients from Mangor Hill has got a second life,” according to him, despite being brought in deteriorating health conditions.
“Their plasma can be used to treat other COVID-19 patients as they have the antibodies,” he added, terming the recovered patients as ‘Covid angels’ and praising them for their ability to share the experience of the road to recovery.
He advised people to be vigilant of the ‘shortness of breath’ symptom. “If one misses that and goes into the breathlessness phase, then it becomes difficult to save the person. One must seek medical help when there is shortness of breath, which these (recovered patients) people know,” he explained, mentioning how the sharing of experiences may help.
Multiple recovered patients have expressed their heartfelt gratitude towards him and the staff led by him. Though they were apprehensive about the hospital facility at the beginning, they explained how the hospital management made them feel home.
“He (Dr. Edwin) is our God, we did not see God but if he happens to be somewhere on earth, I think he is here in front of us. Though we had family members calling us up and inquiring every day, Dr. Edwin was the one who gave us confidence from day one that we aren’t going to die,” a recovered woman in her 40s told Herald while waiting for her ride home from the hospital.
“Dr. Gomes is the one who resurrected me. To put me at ease, he himself would take an anxiety tablet with me because he was also under stress. He just calmed my nerves,” the state’s first active Covid patient to be cured, Edgar Remedios said.
“Cannot believe I was infected by such a deadly virus and I have recovered, all credit goes to the doctor and his team and the staff,” another patient in his 30s exclaimed jovially. Despite the joy of recovery, the worry of social exclusion clouded their thoughts.
“We do not know how the families, societies, and neighbors would react. We are cured now but already we have learned that the families are being taunted by neighbors,” they expressed their anxieties.
Dr. Gome’s hugs came as a comforting gesture to them. “I think society and neighbors need to give them respect, they have defeated corona, they have developed antibodies, which can be useful in the fight against corona”, he reassured them.
He praised some of the patients who stayed back and chose to volunteer and suggested they be given the opportunity to volunteer in the future. “After recovering, this patient from Mangor Hill (a Covid hotspot in Vasco town of Goa) helped other patients by feeding them, putting the bedpan. He was like a nurse. If some patient had a query, he would answer,” he said.
“I am not God, let me be a doctor, please. I am not the one who is treating. The people who are treating is the Chief Minister, the Health Minister, and more than that the Health Secretary and Chief Secretary. They are the people who have taken our protocols and date and posted it in Delhi and got it back with approval. The collectors, who have strictly implemented the lockdown. The police, who are at the borders, day in and day out. They have made my life easy. I am not God. My team of doctors, they are all good and in case I get COVID, they will take over”, the doctor humbly said, refusing to take credit for his actions.
For a brief period, Goa remained Covid-free, when on April 19 the Health Minister of the state Vishwajit Rane took to Twitter to thank the frontline workers. “My deepest gratitude to our warriors, the excellent team of doctors headed by Dr. Edwin Gomes at Employee State (Insurance) Hospital for working tirelessly to counter the menace of the deadly virus,” Rane wrote in a statement.
Though Goa began with a disadvantageous position due to no testing facility, high-interconnectedness, and transient population, it soon caught up with the pace of treatment, thanks to Dr. Gomes in coordination with 200 medical professionals of the state.
Dr. Gomes could not stress enough on the “effects of proximity and personal engagement while nursing infected patients, directly connecting the medical attitude of the caregivers in slowing or shifting the trajectory of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 or any such fast replicating virus”.
Soon after, the numbers of infected patients started soaring in the state. As of July 9, there are a total of 2,039 confirmed patients, 1,207 recovered patients while only 8 cases of deaths are reported in the state.
Owing to the rising number of cases, on July 6 the state government refused to grant the doctor a four-moths sabbatical, as was requested by him. “We told Gomes that he can take a break for a month, but after that, he has to resume duty at the Covid hospital”, told the Health Minister.
“We slept for a few hours every day. It tired us out, but it was good. Who said we are not willing to go back? We will go back. We could manage initially, but then we had patients who were symptomatic”, the doctor explained.
As of July 4, there have been 85 patients admitted to the 220-bed Covid hospital. And three teams of doctors are on duty on a rotation basis. On July 4, the Covid-warrior returned home after 98 days of hospital duty and several shifts. On his arrival at home, the doctor received a hero’s welcome from friends and neighbors.
During this stretch of relentless service, he along with his team of competent doctors has helped at least 153 patients to fully recover while 96 of them are still undergoing treatment and monitoring at the nearby Covid-care facilities. “Every patient getting discharged and cured keeps us motivated”, Dr. Gomes proudly said.
“Playing music with my children, watching them eat their favorite food: waffles, phoning my other colleagues to find out how their day went in GMC and giving my wife a tight hug,” are some of the things that are currently in the doctor’s bucket list while he enjoys a break for three weeks.
Despite odds and challenges, Dr. Gome’s efforts prove once again that dutiful devotion towards patients’ care can do wonders. Not only has he remained committed to the doctor’s oath but also innovated gestures of warmth and goodwill to motivate his patients.
Amid the difficult times of the Covid-pandemic, there are plenty of Doctor Gomes who have worked hard incessantly to cure their patients with a dose of both allopathy and empathy. In fact, the frontline workers across the country deserve our plaudits in the crusade against the virus.
We are hopeful that they will turn out triumphant in the country’s consolidated fight against Corona. Are you?