Social Distancing inside Hospital: Please do not sit, thank you

            It was six weeks since I entered the hospital for my shift as an anesthesiologist, and since my last day, the changes due to COVID were striking. The side entrances I’ve used with my badge scanner for the past decade and a half were locked, all guests and employees were to enter through either the emergency room or main entrance. Nurses masked, behind a desk, scanned my temperature, and asked if I had any COVID symptoms or been in close contact with someone with symptoms. I wore the sticker, with the date written on it, for confirmation I’d been scanned, and entered the Labor and Delivery unit.

            But where were all the families? The spacious sunlit lobby, usually bubbling with proud grandparents comparing photos on their phones, was entirely vacant. It felt surreal and dystopian. A sign read “No visitors,” and each sofa seat was demarcated as a place allowed for sitting or a place to distance.

            Inside, the labor nurses wore masks but otherwise seemed their usual selves, talkative and laughing with one another. They were not afraid, and neither was I. My KN95 mask had been fit tested, and I wore it snugly like a superhero wears a cape.

            My heart did ache when I removed an epidural catheter from a young mom. It was just she and her husband cooing over their first newborn. This was a moment their parents and siblings should all be a part of; it was unnatural they were all alone in this room. So I made a fuss. I cheered and clapped and said Congratulations and told them how beautiful their baby was. They beamed.

            Later that night we did a C-Section. The nurse, masked and gloved, held the sitting patient, face to face with her, and calmed her while we placed the spinal. Once the spinal was in and the patient was lying down, it felt so natural to comfort her. I held her hand with my glove on, until her husband joined us. I felt no fear, only happiness to be part of her care team.

            Taking care of others is an honor. Yes, healthcare workers are heroes, and always have been, but being a part of health care during this time is a gift as well. To help a patient through a difficult time, especially now that their families are unable to be there, is a privilege. One I do not take for granted.