One Doctor’s View from a COVID ward in Mexico
By Andrew Tello
Across the globe, healthcare workers were thrown into a frenzy of medical wonder and anguish by the coronavirus pandemic.
Among the thousands of healthcare workers struggling to treat people with COVID-19 is Katherine Stephania Frausto Avila, a 31-year-old doctor based in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Aside from the constant pressure brought on by her job, she lived with great fear that one day she might go home sick, potentially exposing her family to the virus.
Frausto Avila has a very meticulous process when it comes to making sure she won’t put her family at risk of becoming ill. The hospital where she works has a designated sanitation station, which she goes through daily before going home. The process is methodical: Remove one article of personal protective equipment and use anti-bacterial gel between each removal, afterwards they use an alcohol-based solution to spray the workers from head-to-toe before they were granted access to the dressing rooms. Once in the room all personnel are instructed to shower.
On top of the sanitizing procedures conducted at the hospital, Frausto Avila decided to go an extra step in making sure her family was safe. Once home, she enters what she calls “The Dead Zone,” a.k.a. her garage, which is reserved exclusively for her. Once there, she strips out of her clothes, tosses them into a designated bin, sprays her entire body with disinfectant, and puts on a clean clothes. Then she informs her family members of her arrival, so that they can each go to their rooms while she makes her way to the bathroom to take her second shower.
At times, Frausto Avila questioned if all the tears and effort put towards her patients was worth it. Since the start of the pandemic, Mexico took a rather laissez-faire take on the issue. Mexico has suffered more than 230,000 deaths due to COVID complications, and the number is still on the rise.
Frausto Avila says that it wasn’t until Mexico decided to close its borders when she saw more people taking the virus seriously. Though numbers continue to be on the rise, people fail to comply with simple CDC guidelines, like wearing a mask, washing your hands, and keeping distance between others.
“I think it all stemmed from the fact that it was never taken seriously, and it became political,” said Frausto Avila in a phone interview, with obvious frustration. According to the doctor, there were two conspiracies involving politics that were told constantly throughout Mexico. The first one consists of the origins of the virus, where people believe that it was created to recover money and reduce population, with no obvious proof of the theory.
The other theory speaks of a powerful group of people that control the finances of the world. In this theory, civilians believed that powerful politicians, business owners, and celebrities knew everything about the virus and its potential profits. “Finding the vaccines felt like a competition, and whoever found it first would gain obvious financial control of the world,” Frausto Avila said.
The day in the life of any medical professional is intense, now imagine having to work through a viral virus. Often Frausto Avila found herself exhausted, not knowing when she’d be able to go home. A lot of the frustration brought on was the result of misinformation. “I wish the government handled a lot of things better, especially the medical rations,” Frausto Avila said. It was difficult to work under the conditions where people heard of a miracle drug (such as Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin) that would protect you from the virus but instead hurt those who needed the medicine. From vaccine theft to misinformation, it was obvious to Fausto Avila that Mexico’s government lacked structure.
After several months of hard work and strict routines, Frausto Avila says that there is more support and understanding from her superiors and patients. But what about the effects brought on from having to live as a front-liner? What about the loss she experienced? What about the un-answered questions that everyone has?
Frausto Avila knows that corona viruses aren’t new, and neither is the vaccine provided to fight it. Many characteristics of the virus coincide with HIV, which leads her to believe that COVID-19 was genetically modified. “Perhaps it was created to find a vaccine for HIV and it got out of hand, which caused the start of the pandemic,” says Frausto Avila. Many conspiracies surfaced that surround the start of the virus, along with more scientific advancements on trials for the HIV vaccine.
It goes without saying that millions have suffered because of the pandemic, whether it’s the loss of a loved one, financial disparity, or detriment to mental/physical health. Medical professionals have now lived a lifetime of heartache in the span of a year and couple of months.
Frausto Avila explained her toughest moments as a doctor navigating her way through a new virus. At times she begged her patients who didn’t want to take the extra step to intubate and do it for their loved ones. Frausto Avila found herself holding the hand of a young mother of three, making sure that she didn’t feel alone as her life slipped away.
“I’ll never forget the look on the mother’s face who begged me to not let her die,” explained Frausto Avila. Her mind swarmed with millions of “what ifs.” What if she had just insisted a little more for intubation? What if she didn’t go home the night before? What if she had spoken with the head doctor sooner?
“This pandemic is here to stay for a while,” she said. “Therefore, we should never let our guard down. The most basic advice I could give to anyone is simple: wash your hands, social distance, and try avoiding high-risk areas.”
