I hope this virus goes away for good

By Dr. Michelle Angela Tan-Reyes, MD, FPCP, FPCCP

I am a pulmonologist. I have been in PAPR/hazmat suit for a long time since I cater to COVID patients. My husband is an interventional cardiologist. We have invested in expensive protective gear because we go straight home to our three kids. We strip down in our garage so no virus can come in.

In-person sports training

When safety protocols were being lifted, I felt ambivalent. My kids were finally allowed to do in-person sports training after two years of doing it online. My daughter did volleyball and my son did basketball. It was both frustrating and funny to watch. I was the most excited when they were about to do their training face to face, but I was also very scared. But they have completed their vaccinations by the end of March. They eventually began face to face training in April. For three months, I watched each and every one of their training sessions. I would fret each time I saw them with their maskless teammates (but who can train with masks on, especially kids?!).

We were frontliners for two years, but we didn’t get the virus. But one day my daughter came in and reported one of her teammates was sick.  After a week, 10 of the teammates got it, after 2 weeks, all their household members were infected, including ours. My whole family had COVID, even our yayas, except me.

Teleconsults

I had so many teleconsults during the pandemic. They consumed my day. I thought they would  be gone once we resumed face to face consults, but I was wrong. My teleconsult platform is resurrected each time there is a surge of COVID cases. Patients would consult online when they have COVID. They were scared to get COVID by going to the hospital. Some patients found teleconsults more convenient.

Personally though teleconsultation has been more tiring for me because it takes time away from the children even if I am home. But I think it  is here to stay because it can be convenient for both doctor and patient.

I hope this virus goes away for good. I can’t wait to remove my N95. I can’t wait to see other people’s faces. I can’t wait to go out again, without fear.

Michelle Angela Tan-Reyes, MD, FPCP, FPCCP is affiliated with the Asian Hospital and Medical Center, Rizal Medical Center and Cardinal Santos Hospital. She gave birth during the pandemic then went on to see COVID patients. As she writes in this piece, she never got COVID.

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