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JAKARTA – Indonesian doctor Tri Maharani felt she could cope with any disaster because she has cared for patients injured in tsunamis and volcanic eruptions for the past 22 years.
But she was not prepared to be struck down by Covid-19.
“In the early days, I was very distraught. As a human being, I am afraid. I fear death,” Dr. Tri told The Straits Times.
“On the first, second and third days I cried and after the controls my pneumonia got worse, affecting my lungs,” he said.
However, Dr Tri, Indonesia’s sole toxinologist and advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) on the management of snakebites, said she quickly overcame her fears and was able to change her mindset, “already I was not sad, worried and disappointed. “
Not only did she recover from the disease shortly after, but she created a group of Covid-19 survivors to fight the stigma faced by patients like her and their families.
Testing positive for Covid-19 on June 11, Dr. Tri quarantined himself for two days before being treated at Gambiran General Hospital in Kediri, East Java. He was in the hospital until July 23.
While in the hospital, he posted about his condition on Facebook and his friends responded with much-needed sympathy and support, sending him his favorite food, masks, and other things.
He also wrote a letter to the Minister of Health, Terawan Agus Putranto, requesting test kits to help locate the contacts of his staff and family.
Shortly after returning home, Dr. Tri took it upon herself to deliver care packages to patients across the vast archipelago to lift their spirits.
In fact, in January, before the country took hold of the pandemic, he was already making hazardous materials suits and masks with the help of his family and a friend, distributing them to market traders, as well as workers in the health, among others.
It has also manufactured and distributed nationally more than 200 two-meter-long stethoscopes, modified with aluminum tubes, which has allowed physicians to maintain a safe distance from their patients. Also, another of her creations is a box made of 5 cm thick acrylic that helps to minimize physical contact when a doctor treats a patient.
True to her profession, the 48-year-old doctor had volunteered to work at a Covid-19 facility, the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Disease Hospital, in Jakarta between April 15 and 30.
“When I reflect on it now, I do not regret my decision (to care for others) because it can inspire many people and it makes me happy,” he said.
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