An ordinary day for Croce Rossa Italiana team leader Giulia to fight against the novel coronavirus

Giulia:

Too late to think about it, I need to call the center and tell them that the patient is suspected of the novel coronavirus. We have to carry out epidemic prevention and isolation. In the ambulance, we tried to relieve the tension by telling jokes, so as not to let ourselves get confused. The siren went off and the street was almost empty. We passed by several people and saw their helpless expression on their faces. You can even know that they were thinking, "here comes another one!"

I arrived at the center and changed my protective clothing. The members of the team were worried about us. Clothes, shoes, masks, glasses, gloves! They check every part of me to make sure I'm not exposed to the air! At that moment, thoughts came to my mind: a month ago, there were three teams. It seemed that it was easy for us to help the patients and give each other strength. But now, only I can guarantee the safety of all people. They accompanied me to the door as if to comfort me and tell me "we are here.". I breathe slowly to prevent my glasses from filling up with air so that I don't see anything again. In the elevator is the most difficult part for me. I always avoid looking in the mirror. I always try to control my breathing. I feel everything about me. My heart rate increases with my breath. There is always someone waiting for me at the door, with a worried look. Before they find a bit of relaxation in our eyes, we joked:

"when they see us, they are much better", they call us "angels".But now it's not. We're afraid to wrap ourselves in protective clothing and make it hard for us to breathe. The patient had a fever for weeks and he began to have difficulty breathing. The suspicion of the novel coronavirus is almost inevitable. I tried to calm him down. He could hardly hear me. He was wearing a mask and could hardly speak. I always clip it under my armpit because I can't do it in the distance. We are alone, no family can follow us, I am the only one who can accompany him now, but the fear is growing. I communicate to the rest of the crew to sit in front and close, I find the hatch open, now I feel them closer. I go up with the patient, I try not to make him feel plagued, I try to talk to him as I always do, but we both struggles. I began to take off the mask and the glasses on my face. I had to control my breathing and take off all my things because of the risk of infection. When I think, "is everything I do right?" "Can I do this to protect my teammates?" "Have I protected myself enough?" By the time, we were on our way to the emergency room.

The patient's gaze is increasingly frightened, he asks me: "And now what happens?", "What are they doing to me?", "Where are you taking me?".

But I can't tell him the answer today, I hope I can say what I often say: " Today is not your day", but I can't, because I don't know if it's true, I can't lie to you, because my eyes don't lie.

When we got to the hospital, we had a special passage, which they called "dirty road". We entered that road together, and the footsteps became heavier and heavier. I couldn't stand this protective clothing and mask anymore. I felt that I couldn't breathe anymore. We came to the waiting room and opened our eyes. I saw at least 20 other people. It looked like a movie. I heard coughing, intravenous injection. It looked like a movie. It's time to say goodbye. I have to go. I don't know how to tell you. This may be the last time we meet. I put one hand on my shoulder. I'm going, I want to run faster, but I have to walk slowly because I'm tired, I need to breathe slow.

I come out, I go back to my family, I go "home", I still can't tear everything away, they have to help me. We slowly took off my clothes, glasses, mask.  I can feel the air finally. I can breathe. I can do it now! 

In this way, I finished another shift. During this shift, I was so worried that I left a deep impression on my mind. When I got home, I felt very tired. When I took a bath, the water was flowing. I heard an ambulance passing by. I thought, "Here is another one." My tears mixed with the water. I closed my eyes. It will end... It will be OK. Will end. "

Translated by

Valter Riva 

President of Italian Red Cross Committee of Cinisello balsamo (Milan)

Note: All the above pictures were taken before the occurrence of the novel coronavirus.