Dr. PN Arora lists out lessons learnt during the pandemic
There is no better way to face an unprecedented pandemic like Covid-19 is to build our immunity. And for that, a healthy lifestyle, regular checkups, and prompt medical intervention are utterly necessary,” says Dr. PN Arora, Chairman, Yashoda Super Speciality Hospitals Kaushambi.
One of the biggest lessons that the Covid-19 Pandemic has taught humanity is that we take the most precious and irreplaceable gift--our Life--always taken for granted. Unless, of course, we are face to face with a terminal disease, a fatal accident, or a life-threatening stroke. When we are well, we think death or a health calamity happens to others and we remain ignorantly sure of our continued good health. Covid-19 has severely jolted us from this stupid bravado.
The first lesson that we must learn is that there is no better way to face an unprecedented pandemic like Covid-19 is to build our immunity. And for that, a healthy lifestyle, regular checkups, and prompt medical intervention is utterly necessary.
Secondly, taking care of our body through healthy eating, regular exercise, and proper sleep is as important as taking care of our mental health. In fact, some would argue, mental health precedes physical health. A sound mind generates a sound body. We have seen how living in a confined space or being alone, cut off from regular activities and social connection has drastically challenged the mental well-being of many people, especially in the West.
Thirdly, many people having lived through lockdowns depending on packaged food and a total lack of outdoor activities had put on enormous amounts of weight. Being overweight is a serious health concern. It triggers metabolic syndrome which is the mother of all such life-threatening diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and severe inflammation in the body. As the country slowly opens up and normal activities gather speed, it is of utmost importance that we shed the extra weight that we had put on during the prolonged confinement.
Fourthly, many chronic and acute diseases which routinely attacked human beings got totally neglected as the Covid 19 cases piled up. For example, in the capital New Delhi, there were hardly any admissions in hospitals for treatment of heart, liver, kidney diseases, since many hospitals turned into Covid-only hospitals. These conditions need to be addressed urgently now.
Finally, we also saw both the ugly and noble sides of human behavior at the time of a crisis. Many unscrupulous people traded on human misery by jacking up prices of drugs, oxygen supplies or even ambulances. They squeezed every bit of money from helpless, desperate patients gasping for breath or from their equally helpless relatives and friends. Our heads must hang in shame at this behavior and we must take collective responsibility for this degraded behavior and vow not to let our ethical conduct touch such a low.
But we must also take inspiration from many such people and organizations who risked their own lives to help suffering people by donating blood, drugs, money, and resources. In fact, when families abandoned their loved ones suffering from Covid 19 or their corpses, some volunteers came forward to perform last rites with dignity and honor. They didn't discriminate between known or unknown, rich or poor or urban and rural.
Without such selfless service by a section of humanity, this pandemic would have taken a much greater toll and created much larger devastation. Our faith should always be placed on such nobility. Even as we recover from the ravages of the pandemic, we should take it as nature's warning to us human mortals to take care of ourselves, both body and mind, our environment and of each other if we are to survive as a human race.
This article has been authored by Dr. PN Arora, Chairman, Yashoda Super Speciality Hospitals Kaushambi.