Day 6 Of Lockdown #COVID- 19

My entire series of these 21 days will be based on my experience of being in this lockdown and staying home as a first time mother of a 5 month old baby, Anvay. 

Dear Diary,

Today Yd had to take off from work as we were going to the pediatrician to get Anvay’s rashes checked. Before we could reach Apollo Cradle, we were stopped by the cops at the Raghavendra mutt signal. They asked us where we were off to and why we needed to go to the hospital. We both had our masks on and I had a light swaddle cloth wrapped around Anvay’s head and mouth so that he is not exposed to anything sudden sneeze or cough droplets. We were allowed to go after a quick interrogation but I am sure the cop’s gaze followed us till we got down at the hospital entrance. Yd did not allow the security to park the car in order to avoid taking any risks with the baby around. Apollo Cradle’s look had completely changed. There was a nurse seated outside at a desk with a mask on, had an infra-red temperature measuring device , hand sanitizer and a pen with a bundle of forms. We had to fill out the form giving the details of the child and the reason why we had come. Since we informed the nurse that the pediatrician had asked us to come for consultation and showed her the WhatsApp message, she didn’t question us much. They were very particular about OPD visits and had also postponed many scheduled vaccinations. Even before we could touch the pen to fill out the form , she asked us to use the hand sanitizer and our body temperature was also checked including Anvay’s. My baby felt it was a toy which the nurse was showing him and gave her a big smile. I am sure, amidst all the stress that the nurse was going through by sitting outside in the heat without a fan and risking herself by coming in contact with many outsiders, Anvay’s beautiful smile would have made her day.  

The baby cloth shop was closed and the 24/7 pharmacy was working on a single window system basis. There were few elderly aunties who were seated outside and few other men. From their conversation I could feel that they were the relatives of women who were admitted in Cradle for delivery or had just delivered. They were insisting to go up one after the other but the nurse was very strict and told them that only the husband/ the mother could stay with the lady if she had not delivered and if delivery had happened and the husband needed something he could come till the hospital entrance, follow the cleanliness protocol and then pick up the stuff. One of the aunties was very upset that they were not allowing her to meet her daughter and grand-child from the past three days. She was worried that her daughter might need her more after her C-section delivery. The nurse told very clearly that they have a nurse dedicated to take care of the baby and the mother along with the presence of her husband so she shouldn’t worry. I guess the lady above had also requested the nurse to allow her mother inside as she needed her mother’s support with breastfeeding the baby. The nurse replied again very sternly, ‘ We are there to help your daughter and also a lactation consultant is there to help out in case anything is needed , so please don’t worry as we will not change the rules.’ I was watching all this while waiting for our doctor to arrive. 

Once the doctor came we were asked to go inside. The seats inside the hospital had been removed and there were white markings made with 6 ft distance indicating where each should stand in case there were many people inside. There was no other baby/ patient for OPD consultation except us. Only the mother/ father could accompany the child. Yd had to wait outside while I took the file and the baby inside. Even before I could discuss the problem with the doctor , the pediatrician asked me a set of questions like- ‘Is anyone sick in the family? From how long have you been noticing the rashes? Did you or anyone in your house have any travel history within / outside the country? Did you take the baby to any crowded place?’ After she was convinced with my answers she examined Anvay, checked his vitals, weight, height etc and asked me not to worry about the rashes since the rashes didn’t seem like an infection. Lacto-calamine would help solve the problem. She advised me to take care and also told me that she was praying Covid-19 is contained to a great extent within the lockdown period otherwise the infection spread could go for months together. 

It was difficult for me to handle the baby alone and also pay the bill without touching any surface while holding him. The OPD nurse was very sweet and took care of him while I did the billing formalities. The staff strength was kept minimal but everyone was there to do their duty with an invisible risk lingering around. It was a commendable gesture on the 22nd of March 2020 evening to applaud the efforts of weaponless warriors fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.