It’s also about hope and nappies: being a physio in a Covid-19 ward
Changing a nappy; brushing the hair of an elderly woman infected with Covid-19; giving hope to a patient who believed he was going to die; assisting nurses with bed baths: Durban physiotherapist Shamim Khan has gone beyond the call of duty to bring comfort to those afflicted with the virus. This is Khan’s personal account of her time with Covid-19 patients recovering in hospital.
I walked into the ward to treat an old lady admitted for Covid. She said: “Oh I’m so glad you came into the ward. Please, can you change my nappy.”
I looked around to see if the nurse had followed me into the ward but found I was alone.
I said: “You do know I’m the physio, as I have been treating you the last few days.”
She said: “I know. It’s just that I’m wet and cold.”
“So why didn’t you call the nurse?” I asked.
“I tried reaching for the call button, but it slipped and fell onto the floor,” she said.
I stuck my head out of the ward as I couldn’t leave because I would have to doff then don again.
I called for the nurse but was told she had gone to lunch. It was 3pm – rather late for lunch.
This nurse was telling me the day before how she woke at 4am to leave home at 5.30am. She had to be at work by 6.30am so she could be there for the handover of patients.
Sometimes they do not get to go for tea breaks.
I asked the nurse next door for assistance, but she couldn’t help as she was busy with the admission of a new patient.
So I decided I had no option but to change the nappy.
As I rolled the patient over, I realised her sheet was also wet, so I changed that as well. Only then could I treat the patient.
As I finished my physio session the lady said: “Please, will you be so kind as to brush my hair. It has not been brushed for a few days.”
Feeling sorry for the old lady, I began brushing the tangle that was her hair.
She started talking about how good she was with staying home during the lockdown and only went to a relative’s house to offer condolences after a family member’s death.
That was how she contracted the virus.
Once done she thanked me for my kindness and said she felt so much more comfortable.
Next, I saw a new patient who just came out the bathroom as I got to the ward.
He sat on a chair and was too breathless to speak after walking 10 metres.
I went through his notes and assessed him as I waited for him to catch his breath.
I began treatment and educated him a bit on how the virus affected his lungs.
We walked a few times the length of the ward as we were not allowed out of it.
He managed to go 60m and was quite comfortable. He sat on the chair and cried.
He said to me I had given him hope.
He said he was so depressed that morning and thought he was doomed to die. That was what they read in the media. Off to the ICU.
I was glad to see one of my patients had been extubated after two weeks on the ventilator.
He sat up over the edge of the bed and was so relieved to be able to change his position.
In the middle of the physio treatment of the next patient, his phone flashed and it was his wife.
He asked if he could take the call and I said it’s ok.
The family was happy to see him sitting up. The kids cried and said they were missing dad and that he must get well soon and come home.
It was going to be a while before he went home, as he had a very erratic course of improvements and deterioration.
As I was finishing my last patient in ICU with the nurse, we heard a very feeble cry for help. It was coming from the sister across the ward. I opted to watch over my patient as the nurse ran across to assist.
The patient somehow managed to loosen his restraints and was trying to pull his tube out of his nose.
It had been a long week in the Covid ICU and ward.
Among other requests, I have been asked to change the channel, rub patients’ backs as they get sore from all that lying in bed and to give them water.
We also assist the nurses with baths in the ICU.
If the patient is unstable or very large and can only be turned minimally, the nurse times the bath with physio time so it can be done all at once. The patients are isolated in the wards and cubicles.
The nurses cannot be in there all the time. They go in only when they have to, so when the patients see a physiotherapist, it’s like an extra pair of hands.
To bring some comfort to a patient by listening to their stories and doing little things, apart from the physio treatment, makes it very gratifying.
These stories I have shared are not unique to me.
Many of my physio colleagues will relate. We physios are a very versatile lot.
When a patient said to me: “You are like a beacon of light in this desolate road of darkness,”I realised why I still had passion for my profession after 32 years of being a physio.
To my colleagues who identify with me, I salute you. We are a unique profession, and we never tire of what we do.
The nurses cannot be in there all the time. They go in only when they have to, so when the patients see a physiotherapist, it’s like an extra pair of hands.
The day before she woke at 4am to leave home at 5.30am. She had to be at work by 6.30am so she could be there for the handover of patients. Sometimes they do not get to go for tea breaks.