Dare we call ourselves human?
Late at night, I was groggy when the phone call came that his oxygen levels have dropped to 85% even with oxygen supplementation and he is experiencing shortness of breath. The fine balance between hope and worry hung precariously.
Sleep was not on the menu, as I tried calling the physicians at the hospital in Chandigarh, seeking local contacts, trying to get guidance from my friends who are Infectious disease consultants here, and calling family to soothe and reassure. Pray!
My brother-in-law ( my sister's husband)got diagnosed with Covid 19 a few days ago and despite following recommendations of Fortis Chandigarh Pulmonologist, the condition steadily deteriorated. The high-grade fevers relentlessly persisted and the usual other symptoms stayed.
The CT scan was already showing ground-glass opacities and signs of viral pneumonitis. As my sister paid for a CT scan and was walking out, an employee sneaked out to tell her that the Imaging facility had deliberately overcharged her by thousands. She went back and yelled at them about the social responsibility and such uncommon virtues, and surprisingly they returned money!!
She left no stone unturned to get her husband admitted. With her son ( my nephew) also sick with Covid at home, she faced this alone but then sought help from neighbors/ friends locally. Hospitals are full. Fortis was full- no beds; so was Max.
Finally, after a politically connected neighbor called the health ministry, they were able to get an ICU bed at a different local hospital in Chandigarh. Remdesivir, Decadron, anticoagulants, and the other appropriate treatment were started. This privilege that we take for granted in the USA, will be considered a mighty stroke of luck in times of COVID crisis in India. This is the small personal story of a family who is educated, fortunately, has resources and some contacts but what about a common man, the illiterate, the poor?
Such is the plight of our country and it’s shameful. This is not even the tip of the iceberg. We are all aware of the total collapse of infrastructure, deep-seated corruption, selling of fake medications, floating dead bodies in Ganga, Yamuna; overflowing crematoriums!!! The exploitation of people's suffering has become the norm.
How can we even call ourselves human with such behavior?
The very fabric of humanity has been ripped by greed. We may fulfill the definition of being human with our articulate speech and abstract reasoning but we have clearly lost the essence of humanity. Being humane is human, otherwise, we are no better than apes.
We can blame the administration (rightly so) but who chose them? We as a society have to take responsibility too. We have to CHANGE!
Our country nurtured by saints, sages; the land of the yogis and yodhas, where this sacred earth has been treaded by Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, Guru Nanak Dev Ji, has been gruesomely invaded by our very own selfishness, callousness. The god has become confined in Temples, Gurudwara, Churches, and Mosques.
He has been abandoned by the human heart.
How did we get here??
