Following Jesus in the time of COVID-19

Reflection

Last July 30, I experienced my first sick call as an ordained deacon.

I have actually experienced visiting sick patients, countless of times, as a physical therapist and then as a student chaplain with Manila Doctors Hospital for my Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). 

As a PT, there is really that gap with the patient. Yes, you bond in a different way, like you are there as a medical professional and they treat you as that. Your conversations are limited to the limitations of the patient, their condition, their treatment, and other similar topics. All about the patient's condition and how it can be addressed based on PT evidence-based practice.

As a student chaplain, the relationship becomes more intimate as you try to connect to the patient in a personal, spiritual, and in a more relational level. You try to understand their emotional state in the hope of helping them cope with their sickness. This is most difficult for patients who are near death or who are suffering from terminal conditions. Grieving is almost always a day to day staple and you have to be prepared to journey with the patient, because they could stay longer in the hospital.

But for that day, it was a different experience. It was very brief, just less than 30 minutes or so, but it was an encounter that was so filled with emotion, so rich of God's blessings, the air was thick with emotions of love, of care, of concern for a mother who was in deep pain. Even at a distance, through messenger, you could feel the love of her children who could not physically be with her. Christ was there. 

You would know how much she loved her children by their very presence, a presence that was not just for the sake of being their nor was it about wanting to hold on to her, but it was more of wanting to comfort her, to alleviate, to ease the pain that she was suffering.

Even the household help, on their faces was painted the desire to ease her pain and they were all quick in responding to her needs.

Days later, I was told that the patient was COVID-19 positive. I immediately went into self-quarantine and the whole house was in a panic. No one knew what to do. The anxiety was high. One of the helps would not even respond to me or look at me afraid that she would catch it by the mere sight of me. It was so stressful.

I did my rapid test again and a week later had my swab test. All turned out negative.

Reflecting on what happened, I've come to ask myself: Would I do it again? I mean, would I deliberately expose myself to a COVID-19 patient? And my answer stays the same - I would. But at the expense of the peace of mind of the people I live with? Well, perhaps this just shows the unmet need of educating the people that surrounds me not just of the dangers of COVID-19 or how fast one gets it, but also of our responsibility to take care of those who fall ill of this disease with no prejudice, with no biases. And we have to be prepared, setting up protocols that would also help ease the anxiety of people who are constantly around me. If I expose myself, then I should make sure that I would not be a hassle to others who are very careful not to be exposed with the disease.

Jesus healed the lepers, he touched the untouchables, the unclean knowing that in the eyes of the people he would be unclean, he would no longer be welcome - in the synagogues, in the houses, in the community. 

I have vowed to follow the footsteps of Christ, so, what makes the COVID-19 different from the lepers during Christ's time?

Photo from the net. CTTO.