Couple on the front line against the epidemic: 'Going to battle' after the wedding day

In the fight for the lives of Covid-19 patients, many couples who are doctors and nurses on the front lines have had to put aside their personal plans to face the epidemic together.

When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out for the fourth time, Cu Chi District Hospital (HCMC) was converted from a general hospital to a Covid-19 treatment hospital. The previous 9 departments were also converted into 9 infectious disease departments, while the ICU (intensive care unit) remained the same with the function of treating Covid-19 patients with severe prognosis and requiring mechanical ventilation.

In a hurry to organize their wedding to avoid postponing it due to the pandemic, the couple, Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung (28 years old, general internal medicine department) and Dr. Bui Huu Hoang (27 years old, orthopedic trauma department, Cu Chi District Hospital) continued to postpone their "honeymoon" vacation to focus on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic with colleagues over the past several months.

Doctor couple Phuong Dung and Huu Hoang discuss work in the treatment area with F0 volunteers

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Put aside all personal plans

Phuong Dung and Huu Hoang have been working at the hospital for about 4 years, and because they work at the same hospital, they can easily pick each other up and drop them off. Dr. Dung and her husband met when they were medical students at Tay Nguyen University. In 2018, after graduating, they decided to "go South" and then "dock" at Cu Chi District Hospital.

Dr. Tran Chanh Xuan, Director of Cu Chi District Hospital, said that the hospital is currently treating about 350 patients with symptoms. When the Covid-19 epidemic broke out and became complicated, the hospital received reinforcements from many northern provinces to support, including at one point 200 volunteer doctors. Now that the number of patients has decreased, the hospital has 120 doctors working.

“The hospital is also the first place to implement the F0 volunteer model. Many cases here have recovered and want to help other F0s so they stay to volunteer. The hospital has also signed a subsidized contract with 10 volunteers,” said the Director of Cu Chi District Hospital.

After 9 years of dating, the two decided to get married and held a cozy wedding ceremony in March 2021. Right after getting married, the couple had not had the opportunity to visit their families or spend time together when they had to face the pandemic on the front lines.

“Luckily, we got married a few weeks before the pandemic broke out, so we didn’t have to postpone it. Then the pandemic hit, and we both focused on working until now, for months on end. We both had many personal plans, but now we’re just happy to be able to sleep,” said Dr. Huu Hoang.

In the early days when Cu Chi District Hospital switched to receiving Covid-19 patients, everything was difficult. Due to lack of experience in handling patients and the large number of patients, the medical team had to work hard.

“At that time, I didn't have much experience, and there were no F0 volunteers in the treatment area, so it was very difficult. All the pressure fell on the shoulders of doctors and medical staff. Everyone had to work and learn at the same time, but now everything is familiar. Many patients are now vaccinated, so the severity of the condition is less,” said Dr. Phuong Dung.

Doctor Phuong Dung and Doctor Huu Hoang took wedding photos in early 2021

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Lucky to have a wife to accompany

Being young and full of enthusiasm, no matter how stressful or tiring the job is, it does not discourage the couple Dr. Phuong Dung - Huu Hoang. The number of patients increased during the peak months of the epidemic, the work doubled or tripled, difficulties kept coming, but everyone tried their best because the patients needed to be treated.

As an orthopedic trauma doctor, now assigned to support the infectious disease department 7, Bui Huu Hoang has witnessed many cases of people who did not survive due to Covid-19. When his spirit was down or he felt pressured at work, Dr. Hoang confided in his wife that "luckily, both of us are in the medical field, so it's easy to talk to each other."

Seeing that it was past lunchtime, we wondered why the doctors on duty were not resting yet. “Here, we eat randomly because there is a lot of work. We only eat when we have free time, there is no lunch break,” Phuong Dung said with a laugh.

After a few minutes of rest, the couple, Dr. Phuong Dung and Dr. Huu Hoang, continued to check on the patients being treated in the treatment area to respond to any situations that arose. Everything was repeated over and over again during the 5 months of fighting the epidemic.

At the Infectious Diseases Department 1 (formerly the General Internal Medicine Department) with about 50 Covid-19 patients being treated, the daily work of the medical team is to wholeheartedly do everything from cleaning to examining each patient.

“There were times when I collapsed when I saw patients take their last breaths in front of me, hours before they were still looking forward to going home. At times like that, tears suddenly welled up in my eyes, but I had to hold them back and look away. Even if I cried, I would hide in a corner where no one could see me, because I was afraid that if I lost my composure, it would make my colleagues’ spirits even worse,” Dr. Dung quietly recounted her career story.

According to Dr. Phuong Dung, recently, 2 more volunteers who are F0 have recovered from the disease, so the work inside the treatment area has also been significantly reduced. The 2 volunteers arrange the odd jobs inside the treatment area, while the doctors and nurses focus on examining and treating patients and handling severe cases.

Looking forward to honeymoon in December

As for Dr. Huu Hoang, although he is quiet, just by observing his wife's actions or gestures, he can understand his partner's mood, because they have been together since their student days and now work in the same unit. On days when he sees his wife tired and exhausted due to the overload of work, he comes to spend time listening to her whisper.

“I always try to arrange to be on duty with my wife. We don’t have much time together, so sometimes just meeting for a few minutes, looking at each other through the mask is enough. Now, I have to work and study at the same time, so we have less time to see each other,” said Dr. Hoang.

In recent days, the work is not as chaotic as before, the number of patients is not increasing rapidly like the first day. The medical team also has a lot of experience in treating Covid-19, so everything is gradually "cooling down".

When we met them, we felt the joy of the young couple when talking about the recent decrease in the number of patients. As young and enthusiastic doctors in the early stages of their dedication to the medical profession, for them, as long as they can save as many people as possible, that is the joy and motivation to contribute.

Sitting next to her husband, Dr. Phuong Dung "rekindled" old stories about not being able to travel together or enjoy a honeymoon, because both of them and their colleagues were working hard to help Ho Chi Minh City overcome Covid-19 . "I hope Ho Chi Minh City will be free of the epidemic this December, at that time we will both ask for leave to go to Da Lat for a trip," Dr. Phuong Dung looked at her husband and said. ( to be continued )

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vo-chong-tren-tuyen-dau-chong-dich-ra-tran-sau-ngay-cuoi-1851390739.htm