As soon as Elisa pronounces the phrase you can see the emotion and pride in her eyes and her voice. She is part of the Health team that provides care to suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients in La Rural and remained hospitalized for 17 days after contracting the virus while working. Her story is an example of commitment and vocation of service, like that of so many health workers who are on the first battlefront fighting the pandemic.
Elisa lorca She has a degree in speech therapy at Caps Yerba Buena and said that since the beginning of the pandemic she felt that she could not sit idly by, even though a priori it might be thought that her specialty was not so required in this period: “I was working voluntarily in the assembly of chinstraps and taking supplies and the nursing staff to vaccinate with my vehicle. The truth is that I feel that I have a great vocation for service and I could not stay still, especially in this situation in which Health had to come forward ”.
In the midst of these tasks, Elisa received a call from the head of the Yerba Buena Operational Area, Dr. Claudia Dulac, to summon her to assist in coordinating the work that the health teams would develop in La Rural. They started that work in May. More than 300 people passed through her hands, among them many were swallow workers who complied with the mandatory quarantine, did the swabbing and later continued with the isolation in their homes, until the contingent of a group from Buenos Aires changed everything.
In June, the first group with multiple positive cases arrived in Tucumán and regarding what was generated during those days, Elisa regretted how fear in society and the comments tended to overshadow the work that had been silently being done. Many people had already passed through La Rural, but the news they stayed with was “the contagion group,” she recalls and even so maintains that they were not discouraged and continued working on a field that was totally new.
“The team that works at La Rural is impressive, they are highly trained and apart from that they have something that we all agree on, which is the vocation of service and empathy with the patient. I remember the shock, the silence that was generated when we received the information from the first positive patients, but it lasted a few minutes until everyone began to prepare to go out and let people know what was happening. We worked a lot with them, they were scared and we tried to give them all the support and restraint they needed, ”says Elisa.
In this context, it did not take long for a protocol to be fine-tuned that specialists carried out to notify people and act quickly by coordinating logistics with the ambulance that came in those cases. “For me personally, this is a job where I learned many things and we knew that we were exposed to contagion, we took care of each other and helped each other. The behind the scenes of this was and is to run and go so that people are protected and have everything they need during the period of isolation ”, he defined.
“I live alone with my 9-year-old son and from the first positive case I made the determination to take him to my mother’s house. My decision was to be isolated and each of the people who worked at La Rural took their precautions. I communicated with my child through video calls and my family was aware of the work I was doing, ”she continued, while she said that it was precisely the desire to see her son that led her to have the swab done, which was positive for him. virus.
Regarding the disease, Elisa reports that initially she remained asymptomatic, but that later intense symptoms began: A strong pressure on her chest that made it difficult for her to breathe, acute headaches and intolerance at the stomach level, caused that, when she received the call from the minister and the Executive Medical Secretary to warn him of the positive, ask for medical assistance.
“Very quickly I had the ambulance at the door of my apartment. I went to the Avellaneda hospital first, where they treated me, they made me the plate, everything was very organized and there they told me that I needed intensive care because my lungs were affected. I surrendered trusting in the work that the medical teams do and they transferred me to the ICU of the Health Center, from where I highlight the commitment of the nurses who have a lot of empathy with the patient, ”he said.
She remained hospitalized for 17 days, but her recovery was positive, she did not require oxygen or plasma and managed to get out of intensive care quickly, for which she is grateful for the support of the people and the Ministry of Health in the figure of her authorities, who showed themselves attentive to the evolution of the painting: “This should be noted and appreciated, that way one feels more content. The virus does not discriminate, those who discriminate are us and people should not point to the person who is infected, that person is distressed and sad because they do not choose that and because they do not know if they have infected someone around them “.
Elisa has already been discharged and says that the reunion with her son was wonderful. After what she experienced, she was confident: “I do not regret anything at all, if I had to relive everything that I have been through, I would do it again. This gave me great learning, the possibility of meeting incredible people, of really working as a team with people I did not know but who fit in perfectly. All of us who work in health have, to a greater or lesser extent, that vocation of service to offer ourselves to others, I am not going to change my workplace or team, I want to return with the same and eager to help those who need it most ”.
At the time of giving a message to the community, the lawyer emphasized awareness and responsibility regarding care and for all health workers most exposed to the virus, the lawyer prioritized the importance of not being afraid and trusting what that they know: “They are trained to face this situation. We have to be strong and united. We are health, we are service to the community ”, he concluded.
Photo gallery:
–
