A year after the first corona infection: ‘It looked like an intense film’

“That has not been entirely successful, we can now say. Understandable: the need for contact and warmth is deep. With the vaccine approaching, I now see it becoming more relaxed and I find that difficult. It is strange to see that people stand in line for cake and shit. “

“If expansion is possible, young people should take advantage of it. I see them mentally stuck because of a lack of perspective. Sadness, loneliness, suicidal thoughts, really worrying. A bite is being taken from their development and I wonder if we are doing that damage. still polish away. “

“Looking back it was a bizarre year. Especially for my doctor in training, who had her first day on March 1. A month later we stood together in a sports hall in moon suits, without knowing exactly what we were fighting against. You also saw the stranger in patients, deep in their eyes. It felt like an intense film. “

“We thought at the time that we had it very hard, and then the second wave was yet to come. In terms of volume, it was even more intense, especially in the Rijnmond region. You are indeed better prepared and are less likely to become disrupted. But that patients were sometimes transferred to I found ic’s in Groningen, Maastricht and Zwolle difficult. “

“For example, I had a good relationship with a very vital woman in her early 70s. She became infected, but recovered a bit every day. Until she fell out of nowhere and had to go to the IC in Groningen, where she eventually died. That gave me really a powerless feeling. That no matter how fast you shift gears, you sometimes lag behind. “

“Sometimes I miss the solidarity that prevailed during the first wave. You saw that people got strength from that. Unfortunately, that solidarity is fading away. But with the arrival of the vaccine, we can now take a step forward every day instead of having to fighting a step backward. That offers a tremendous sense of hope. “

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