Latest update October 6th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 04, 2020 News
By Romario Blair
Kaieteur News – “When the things we love doing the most cause us hurt and pain, we may feel like quitting, but if we truly love what we do, then we understand why it’s important to continue the fight.” Those were the words of Nurse Onika Khan, one of the few Indigenous health workers who are working tirelessly on our nation’s frontline.
But just recently, she was faced with a terrible dilemma, one that could have ultimately determined the continuance of her career as a frontline worker.
You see she has been working on the frontline since Guyana recorded its first COVID-19 case back in March. However, about a month ago, during the call of duty, she contracted the novel coronavirus which causes the disease.
Interesting to note, however, is that her dilemma was linked to the fact that she had been infected, but rather to the discriminatory reaction from members of the public; the very people she had been making sacrifices to help protect.
Nurse Khan presently works in the Maternity Unit of the Suddie Public Hospital where she executes the functions of a midwife. “When maternity patients go in for labour and delivery I basically take care of them during that process making sure that they are emotionally and physically prepared to go through labour,” she explained.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Nurse Khan originated from humble beginnings. Herself and four siblings, were raised by their single mother, Thelma Williams. She grew up in Mainstay/Whayaka community, a predominantly indigenous community on the Essequibo Coast that is quite famous for its natural black water lake. Her life there, as she described it, was one that was filled with joy and adventure.
“It was really exciting growing up in Mainstay because in there, at that time, there wasn’t much transportation, so most of the time you had to walk. Sometimes while walking you use to see a deer or sometimes we use to go to the farm and you use to see monkeys in the trees just looking at you, and then there was the lake that we use to go and hang out at,” she recalled.
As she continued to describe her childhood memories in an Indigenous village, she said, “because we hadn’t electricity we use to use flambeau, and because the community was mostly sand, the entire place will just light up when the moon light raises above the trees. The kids will play a game of ‘sal-out’ in the moon light. Then we would sit down and grandmother use to tell us stories… We hadn’t the things other kids had, chocolate and fancy dolls but we always wanted better so we worked for it.”
EDUCATION AND CAREER
Because of her love for nature, Nurse Khan said that she wanted to become a forest ranger. With a giggle she said, “I wanted to be a forest ranger but my mother was scared of me having that job because of going deep into the interior, but I really like nature.”
She told Kaieteur News that her eldest sister, Tamala Williams, was the reason for her joining the nursing profession. “My sister, the eldest, was the one who use to push all of us to accomplish things. When I wrote CXC she took my information and she filled up the form for me.”
Nurse Khan recalled being accepted to participate in the nursing programme, and commenced training in 2005. She graduated in 2007 and the following year was appointed to the Suddie Public Hospital. After almost a year at that institution, she pursued a course in midwifery.
After training, she continued to work at the same hospital but then transferred to the Oscar Joseph Hospital a few years ago.
CONTRACTING COVID-19
It was at the Oscar Joseph Hospital that she contracted COVID-19 last month. To explain this, she revealed that there is presently an arrangement between Regions One and Two which allows high risk pregnant mothers from Region One to be transferred to Region Two. According to Nurse Khan, it is during these transfers that strict precautions must be taken. “They’re persons coming and you don’t know who’s coming. Some may have had the test done and are coming with their results, while some of the patients come without a result. And the scariest part is that these patients can look normal; they exhibit no symptoms.”
Nurse Khan said that during the transfer of high risk patients, no mistakes can be made. This, she added, is a lesson she had to learn the hard way. “Last month they were two maternity mothers without symptoms. They were passed through us at Charity…being a midwife there, I came into direct contact with these mothers. Later they were admitted at Suddie (Hospital) and tested. When the results came back the patients were positive.”
Nurse Khan said that upon learning the patients tested positive, she was immediately overwhelmed with fear. “I was fearful, because I was at work when I learnt that the patients that I dealt with, came back positive. I wasn’t having any symptoms so I was telling myself it can’t be that severe because I wasn’t feeling any symptoms. Eventually, they tested us and we had to wait five or six days before I got the results. The day before I got the results I got a slight sore throat, then they called me the night saying that all the tests they took came back negative but mine came back positive.”
Nurse Khan and her 12-old-year daughter, Anteuz Williams, were then quarantined at the Suddie Public Hospital. Her greatest fear, at that time, was the safety of her daughter. “When I learnt that I was infected I was fearful for my daughter, and she was sleeping right next to me when I got the results. I looked at her and I started crying because if something was to happen to her I don’t know how I would’ve handled it. I was just wondering about her future the entire time,” Nurse Khan shared.
She eventually got a break from her anxiety, when her daughter’s test results returned negative.
DISCRIMINATED AGAINST
While Nurse Khan was in quarantine, the reaction of the some members of the public was grossly discriminatory.
She told Kaieteur News that most of the acts of discrimination were hurled at her close family members. “The reaction was really discriminating, my sisters and so were stigmatized and they live in Mainstay. Vehicles and transportation were refusing to take some of them out of the community and people generally didn’t want to talk to them.”
Nurse Khan said that it was at this point that she contemplated quitting her career. “At one point I wanted to quit. But I said to myself it could’ve been worst and it could’ve happened to anyone. Everything happens for a reason and at least I still had life. So I kept on doing what I do best.”
When asked what could’ve caused the population to pin a stigma on her family, Nurse Khan replied, “Fear could be the reason why they reacted like that. For some of them you may have an underlying medical condition, so they may feel that if they were to get infected, it may be worse so I guess they preferred to be on the safe side.”
A LESSON
Nurse Khan admitted that there are multiple lessons that can be taken away from her recent experience. She reiterated that precautions must be taken at all times, especially since patients who are asymptomatic, can very well be a carrier of COVID-19. “I hope that from my lesson, persons take more precaution when stepping out. First ensure that you wear your mask at all times when going out. As Guyanese we can boil our various medicines and use them. Make sure that our vitamins are up to date and live with the view that COVID-19 is very much real.”
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