This is the era that defined us. Test the limits of the endurance of the understaffed National Health System. He imposed long-unprecedented – on such a scale – lockdown measures. This has changed the way medical professionals interacted with the sick, as well as the way relatives separated their loved ones.

In the beginning of May, World Health Organization declared the end of the state of emergency in COVID-19 pandemic, indicating, however, that the disease has not ceased to be a global health threat. On the occasion of this development “K” spoke to two doctors and a nurse first line. They tried to make a brief retrospective of the stressful moments they faced during the pandemic that are unlikely to be forgotten.

Maria Milona’s first contact with the virus was sudden, in March 2020, when a colleague informed her that she had become infected. She was one of his close contacts, and soon she too developed symptoms. A total of five medical workers tested positive at the People’s Hospital within three days. This was one of the first outbreaks of hypertransmission in hospitals, and there was a risk that the clinic would be closed as more cases emerged. In the end, this did not happen.

Ms. Milona, ​​pathologist and supervisor at the People’s Hospital, still remembers that tense and troubling period. Her colleague, who spoke with Italian doctors, informed them of new symptoms. Sick paramedics kept a detailed diary, tried to support each other. On the 15th day, everyone returned to their duties, with the exception of Mrs. Mylonas. “At 37, still unable to walk more than 15 meters without fatigue, palpitations when standing up are excruciating,” he says. Finally, after three weeks, she returned exhausted and unprepared. But he had to help in the clinic and participate in the vigils of the first line. This was not the only time he fell ill.

In August 2021, she tested positive for the second time. As he describes, he encountered an unvaccinated patient with an acute respiratory infection who steadfastly refused to wear a mask to protect others. A total of 22 people fell ill, patients, nurses and doctors.

Her colleague’s immunocompromised mother died from this spread, while she herself now had even more severe symptoms. She slept on her back to breathe better, did breathing exercises at home, and again she was visited by orthostatic tachycardia. And this return to work was painful. She says that even a month after she was diagnosed, she still needs help getting up to the floor. He made three stops and at the end his pulse was 120. It took her 15 minutes of sitting to recover. “If I hadn’t been vaccinated, we wouldn’t be talking today,” he emphasizes.

He fell ill twice more, with mild or no symptoms. However, this whole adventure led to the diagnosis of myocarditis, and he is still under cardiological observation. And other health professionals have similar testimonies, even if how the disease manifests varies from case to case.

It was necessary at different stages of the pandemic to show self-denial, despite the fear and danger. It’s not easy to forget.

“The WHO announcement marked the end of the pandemic emergency measures, but for us healthcare workers, the coronavirus is and will be, just in a more endemic form, with always heightened measures to protect our patients. Now we have weapons, we have knowledge, heightened vigilance.” Three years after the onset of the first cases and her own first illness, she emphasizes that she still has a bitter taste, especially from “not recognizing the work of pathologists, in particular, throughout the pandemic,” but also from “not recognizing the work of pathologists “-the recognition of her valuable work as the driving force behind our hospitals, our specialists.”

In January 2021, Garifallia Pulaku, pathologist-infectionist at the 3rd Sotiriya Pathological Anatomical Clinic, described a “K” scene that had previously only been found in the literature. From the cameras installed in the wards of the COVID clinic, they saw the patient on the floor, they thought that she had fallen out of bed. They later discovered that she was sitting with her back against the wall, her head bowed and her right knee bent at her chest. She had the last stage of shortness of breath, the mask did not help her. She struggled to breathe and looked for a position that would help her. He had to be intubated. The unusual position which he instinctively adopted is called in the literature the “repentant position.” The years of the pandemic have passed for Ms. Pulaku in constant wakefulness on the front lines along with her Salvation colleagues. He could not imagine in all this course of continuous upheavals when the time comes to get out of the crisis. “I knew that multiple interventions would be required, such as new treatments and vaccines, but I could not imagine that the plasticity of the virus would be many times greater than our own gains, as happened with such promising monoclonal antibodies,” he said. speaks.

Over the past six months, the daily life of the incidents they manage has improved markedly. However, he emphasizes that the end of the pandemic for them will be final, “when the last ward department exclusively for COVID-19 is abolished.” However, he admits that now in the world, the coronavirus already seems like a distant memory. “From a scientific point of view, we have gained knowledge accumulated over a decade, over three years. Our strategy for dealing with the disease has changed many times. Fortunately, people tend to quickly forget about the pain and move on, this is a defense mechanism, ”he says, adding that we should not forget what happened if we want it not to happen again. “We need a cold-blooded assessment of the reality in which we lived, with the participation of all social partners, so that we are ready and ripe for the next challenge that is sure to come.” The next day, however, is not prescribed lightly. Ms Pulaku notes that as most of the healthcare workers have taken part in the fight against coronavirus, other aspects of medical care have been left behind. The flight of young scientists abroad continues, a significant part of medical workers have a burnout syndrome. “In addition to the strategy to increase the number of health workers, the safety and security of those who are already serving should be a priority for the future,” he says.

In November 2020, during one of the most severe outbreaks of the pandemic, Gavriil Tahtatsoglu organized a home “reanimation ward” to treat sick relatives. He received oxygen, wore a mask, but it was impossible to go through this process unscathed, he was exposed. “I had to choose: either I will enter the fire and risk getting burned, or I will stand aside and make my cross to see how it ends. I preferred to go into the fire, ”he said then to“ K ”. The experienced nurse chose this route because Thessaloniki’s hospitals were already overcrowded. He did not want to burden his colleagues with an additional burden. In the end everything went well. However, the pandemic has left an indelible mark. “The conditions were urgent, now we are trying to enter the regime,” Tahtatsoglu, deputy head of the nurses of the Papageorgiou intensive care unit, told K. “When the pandemic started, I had no idea that we would lose so many people and that it would leave such big emotional wounds for everyone, and especially for us on the front lines.”

During these years, he also lost two people close to him, his peers. “Despite the fact that we deal with death and disease every minute in intensive care units, we have come to understand that we are going through this life,” he emphasizes.