Today is Day 50 of a Lockdown in India.
Today is also exactly 50 days since my cousin Dr. VL Hruaii, better known as Mash to us, left our colony here in Chaltlang to stay at ZMC Hospital, Falkawn, indefinitely, as she was one of the doctors appointed to treat CoVid-19 patients in Mizoram.
With Mizoram's lone CoVid-19 patient now completely cured and discharged, the dedicated CoVid-19 medical staff of ZMC too were quarantined and tested, and finally, my cousin was allowed to come home today!
Yayyy, taali bajaao! :)
Though it's been just 50 days, it feels a lot longer than that, especially since back then there were so much fear and uncertainty in the atmosphere. There is still some level of apprehension now too, but most of us are no longer in panic mode thanks to the wonderful work of our CoVid-19 warriors in Mizoram.
As I posted on Day 1 of this Lockdown series, Mash and her group of selected doctors and nurses went off to fight this battle for us, isolated from the rest of the people including other medical personnel as well, unaware of what the dark future might hold for them.
Thankfully, that future turned out to be very favorable for all of us.
In case you missed this post, you can read about what the doctors, nurses and other medical staff treating CoVid-19 patients in Mizoram go through everyday - ZMC CoVid-19 Warriors.
While we saw the people of Mizoram rejoicing as our lone CoVid-19 patient was finally discharged from the hospital with scores of well-wishers lined up on the roadside clapping their hands and cheering for the recovered patient, all these doctors and nurses from ZMC who had risked their lives every day for the past 50 days, went home to a silent reception.
The reason was simple. They wanted to keep a low profile.
As Mash puts it, they were simply doing their jobs so there was no need for applause and commendations. Plus they were allowed to go home only for a week and will all have to report back to the hospital again next week. (And this is only if no new case comes up in the next one week. Any new case means they will have to report back to the hospital immediately).
I too was specifically instructed not to post anything about Mash's return on Facebook, in case some of our friends and neighbours turned up at their house to welcome her. Now that she is safely back inside her room (sleeping on her bed that she had nicknamed "the bed of roses" as a tribute to Jon Bon Jovi), I am finally allowed to update about her return on my blog. :D
And so it was just a very small family gathering welcoming her back from the hospital. My sister got a bouquet for her, and my uncle and aunt had a "welcome cake" ordered. That was it.
But yes, it was indeed a joyful moment for all of us.
We let baby Thomas, son of Dr. Samu and Mahlimi, Mash's sister, blow the candle out before cutting the cake.
And so, that was it. A hero's welcome, in its most modest and humble form.
We don't know what lies in the road ahead, especially now that more Mizos from outside the state have been returning home (read my next upcoming blog update on that), but one thing we know for sure is that doctors like Mash and nurses like Hluii will be back on their feet again giving their best shot to fight this pandemic for us.
So let us continue to keep them in our prayers and ask that they get the strength to continue with their work.
Take care for now everyone. Good night.
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