On the front line of dangerous fight against coronavirus. In protective equipment. That’s what life and work of those who test people for COVID-19 looks like.
They see fear in people’s eyes, anxiety, uncertainty, panic but they give them part of themselves and talk to them. They are often psychologists but they are people in the first place.
Quiet, imperceptible, but so present in those difficult moments.
No fear. This is fight. And we will win. This is how begins her story Ms Ljiljana Vušović, sanitary and ecological engineer in the Center for Control and Prevention of Disease.
She is happy she can be helpful in this situation. She sleeps very little and that’s fine. It doesn’t matter.
But the day is so long.
She starts at 7:30 and finishes… well, she never knows.
“My colleague and I go together to see families that need to be tested for the virus. We do all the preparations, make lists, equipment and then we move, she says.
Before arriving, they put on protective equipment. Step by step, because everything matters. There must not be any omissions.
Then disinfection. And then she’s ready to come in. They are expecting her. It’s not easy.
“In the beginning, people asked so many questions. How long will this take, why me? We talk, we explain everything. We try to calm them down. To encourage them”, Ms Vušović says.
Once they take the sample from patients, they put the swab tests in test tubes which are then placed in special refrigerators.
And then they go out. They take off the protective equipment. Carefully. With utmost focus. They get rid of that equipment which is then decontaminated.
They move on.
Ms Vušović says there are some interesting things while they are in the terrain.
When neighbors ask: “Where are you going? Who are you looking for? Why are you in this area?”
She says that they haven’t had any case of person refusing to be tested.
It’s not easy for patients.
“I try hard to be in good mood”, Ms Vušović points out.
At work, they are all a big family, supporting each other. Because, this, too, shall pass. It is difficult, but it will pass.
“I don’t know how long my working day lasts. Until we finish, I guess. And when we finish, we are always available at any moment”, Ms Vušović says.
While she is at work, she doesn’t feel fear.
And when she is finished, she comes back home.
Alone with her thoughts.
“When I come back home, I recall families I visited. Pictures swirl around my head, worried eyes of people I tested”, Ms Vušović says emotionally.
But there’s no retreat. Tomorrow is another day.
All over again.
But, that’s life. And health is the most precious value.
Ms Vušović says this is time for everybody to be together, as one.
“I wouldn’t allow myself to quit. I do this for love, I love my job. Take care. Stay at home and wear masks”, Ms Vušović says.
