Life On The Frontline

A never-ending stream of patients, hazmat suits, heartbreaking farewells, exhaustion, burnout, pressure – just another day in the life of a doctor at the heart of the Covid-19 storm

- Charlea Sieberhagen-Grey

As the Western Cape hurtles towards its peak in the number of COVID-19 cases, emergency workers are battling around the clock to treat the ill, the terrified and the desperate.

Dr Karienya Kasvalu (33) works in the emergency unit of a private hospital in Cape Town’s northern suburbs.

This is her story.

THE hours, days and weeks have all blurred into one. I often don’t recognise my colleagues dressed in their layers of protective clothing and masks as they rush from one patient to the next.

And then there’s the look in the eyes of patients battling for every breath.

It’s more than just fear. They’re too tired to cry. They’re not angry. They show no emotion – it’s a completely empty look. I think it’s because they have to focus so hard on breathing.

When I get home to my flat, I’m physically and emotionally drained but I can’t relax until I’ve gone through my ritual.

I take off my shoes at the front door. I immediately put my clothes in the wash, then I take a hot shower. But nothing I do makes me feel completely safe from the virus.

Thankfully I wear several layers of protective clothing at the hospital and my hair’s always covered too. But some days, even though it’s not on a day I’d usually wash my hair, I’ll wash it anyway because I feel I may have been exposed during the day.

After my shower, I spray the door handle and the washing machine lid with an alcohol sanitiser because I touched them when I came in.

Right now, I’ve just come off a 12-hour night shift. I had ‘lunch’ just after 3 am so I’m not really aware of time anymore.