Not all heroes wear capes

My best friend who works as a nurse in the United Kingdom broke down and shared with me one time about how her work has been tiring her that much. They are working extended shifts, with limited medical supplies and patients who just cannot hold the line with the virus.

Apparently in our country, the situation is the same too. We have doctors, nurses and medical staff who are working round the clock to attend to the many patients who are being rushed for respiratory complaints and then later on find out that they are positive for COVID-19. Other hospitals are calling for more personnel to join them, but only a few brave souls answer this call.

I call the medical frontliners as modern day heroes. They have sacrificed so much just to make sure the response to this pandemic has been properly addressed. Despite their numerous calls for people to follow basic health protocols, many still end up critical but they never cease to make sure lives are saved. Just like Superman, they do whatever it takes within their power to make sure that a person survives the virus. I do understand them when they say they are overwhelmed or, as Dr. Peter Mancao would describe it, "full to the brim". There are only a few soldiers for this long battle.

However, it makes me wonder, are these heroes properly recognized? It doesn't have to be a fanfare event but recognized in a sense that their needs are being met. Nurses, for example, have been lobbying for the longest time for their salaries to be increased. They are bending their backs over for their patients to make sure everything is taken care of, yet they only receive a meager salary. That is why nurses like my best friend, fly a thousand miles away from here so they can earn more. They feel that they are valued more in a foreign country even if it means leaving their loved ones behind.

Yesterday was National Heroes' Day. Back in elementary we would remember the other fallen heroes apart from Dr. Jose Rizal and Andres Bonfacio. There were more men and women who have sacrificed for the country at that time when independence had yet to be attained. Today it is a different story because we are in the middle of a health crisis where the healthcare system is the one we have to depend on.

I say we should help our heroes by following what is basic: wearing a mask, practicing physical distancing and getting vaccinated. We must also not go out of the house unless needed and by doing so we should also avoid gatherings. In doing that we respect healthcare workers and their work. Remember that it is not only the virus that the medical sector needs to focus on, but on other diseases and illnesses as well.

Someday I would like to see my nurse friends back in the country and working happily by getting the pay they deserve.