A nurse at Huế Central Hospital takes care of the baby of a COVID-19 patient. — VNA/VNS Photo Huyền Trang

THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ — Leaving behind their families, female medical workers at Huế Central Hospital in the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế did not hesitate to join the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overcoming all obstacles, their high sense of responsibility and medical ethics have helped them continue to fight over the course of many sleepless nights.

Doctor Mai Thị Hồng Vân volunteered in HCM City. Her parents are in Thừa Thiên-Huế Province, which is more than 1,000km from the city, and they look forward to Vân’s phone calls every day.

Vân’s calls are often very short, only to inform her parents about her health, but enough to keep her parents calm. They feel proud of their daughter.

Leaving her family for nearly two months, Vân was one of the first medical workers at the COVID-19 intensive care units (ICU) in HCM City, when the city was in the most critical period of the pandemic.

Many groups of doctors alternated shifts, but Vân was determined to stay.

“I want to stay here so that every day I can help patients recover and return to normal life. I don't know how long this battle will take, but I am determined to fight and complete my mission,” she said.

Vân can't help but worry when she has direct contact with patients every day. But just seeing the patients' take a few steps after a critical illness, or waving goodbye when they get discharged from the hospital, Vân has more strength and motivation to continue.

Most of the patients treated in the ICU are seriously ill, with respiratory failure, organ failure or coma. Most need ventilation. To treat the patients, who are struggling for each breath, it is necessary to have machines and medical equipment, said Vân.

“I still remember a middle-aged female patient’s look when experiencing difficulties breathing. Sometimes she fell into critical condition. Then, with doctors’ dedicated work and her efforts, she started to improve. Seeing her being able to walk is a great source of happiness, not only for me but also for all medical staff,” she said.

The task of treating patients is the same everywhere, as it is a dangerous job, many live far from family and are quarantined from society. In Thừa Thiên-Huế Province, the female medical workers’ task in Huế Central Hospital is no less difficult.

Deputy director of the hospital Hoàng Thị Lan Hương told Vietnam News Agency that on every “front”, people could see the small but resilient silhouettes of female medical workers.

“From screening, examination, medical declarations to nutritional care and treatment, personal hygiene and rehabilitation for COVID-19 patients or vaccination, female nurses and doctors of the hospital always successfully complete their tasks with determination and dedication,” said Hương.

When the pandemic spread, the hospital received dozens of serious and critical COVID-19 patients from central provinces.

Nearly 500 medical workers in the Thừa Thiên-Huế Province were assigned to support in treatment, and half of them are female.

As the chief nurse of the COVID-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centre under Huế Central Hospital, Nguyễn Thị Ngọc starts her day when her baby is still asleep. When she returns, her child is already in bed for the night.

The baby is in need of a mother's care, but Ngọc must ask for help from her family to take care of the baby while she takes part in anti-pandemic work.

Ngọc said that although she faced lots of difficulties, when shé was assigned, she was ready to join the battle against the pandemic and was ready to offer the best care to patients.

Knowing that patients are very scared, Ngọc and other nurses always encourage them to overcome the difficulties. Many times, Ngọc and other medical workers had to stay up all night to check on patients, as well as help them eat and drink.

Those warm gestures revived the patients’ spirits, enhancing the connection between patients and medical staff even though they never saw each other’s faces.

Vân and Ngọc are only two out of many female medical workers at Huế Central Hospital who did not hesitate to take on difficult and dangerous work.

Dressed in suffocating protective gear all day, they all experienced suffocation and exhaustion. But they still smile and stay optimistic, even though their hands are wrinkled, cracked and their shirts are soaked with sweat. — VNS