Life in the Frontlines - When Saving Lives is a Continuous Fight

During the COVID 19 pandemic, many heroes emerged. Imagine the single parents, the poor and those struggling in the margins, trying to make ends meet! We will admit that it is very difficult. Many were able to protect themselves, by following safety measures, to avoid contracting the virus in a certain discipline. Yet there is one magnificent group of people who had no choice, and that is the healthcare workers – those in the frontlines combatting the virus.

This story is about a wonderful Kosovo woman, a medical doctor, who has had hardly any days off in more than a year, because she makes sure that patients are able to breathe and get better once infected with COVID-19. The director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic in Pristina, Dr. Lindita Berisha, has dedicated herself to this fight. She never imagined that aa pandemic like this would ever happen. Her life, or we can say, just her professional life, has changed radically. Because she has not had have much life beyond her work in the past year.

“In the past year and a half, I have had only five days off. I sleep with my phone next to me. On average, I have had up to 200 calls per day, all related to COVID-19. My life went upside-down and I lost sense for normal private life. I am wondering what will happen when this will be over and how will I react to normal activities after such a hectic period in my life”, says Dr. Berisha.

A professional continues developing and learning all his/her life, and medicine is one of the most dynamic sciences, so Dr. Lindita has faced innovations in her work during the pandemic and believes that without adequate technical assistance much would not be possible:

“You can’t even imagine how useful every tool has been in our work. Everything in our work is interlinked, from the laboratory testing until patient goes out of the hospital. Our work would be senseless without proper equipment”.

The whole world connected COVID with breathing. We have all somehow become “experts” when it comes to D-dimmer, saturation, antibodies, vaccines, but people like Dr. Lindita lived through it all with the patients that were treated. She says that she did not expect that so many times she would encourage the people of Kosovo to fight, to breathe with full lungs and to think positively:

“Patients are facing corona virus unprepared, ashamed of the fact that they got infected. In addition to clinical side, I had to talk to them, and spend hours in calming them down. Then, I had to prepare my staff, as well. These medical workers have literally gone through hell, especially in July last year and throughout the winter. We fought for every life, and please have in mind that only heavy cases were placed in our hospital. Being a frontline worker amidst the pandemic is very stressful. When you come home you only see a tired face, with scarfs from the protection suit.”  

Kosovo has been able to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic relatively well and many lives have been saved. Dr Berisha spent countless hours in a protective suit, which further complicates her work, both mentally and physically. Many of her staff lost their lives while fighting in the frontlines: 

“Our older colleagues, respective doctors, medical staff and friends, died in our Clinic, they lost the fight against COVID-19. We will always remember them,” said Dr. Lindita with sadness.  

How long it will take for all of us to return to normal life and whether this is even possible is a question that no one is able to answer. For this brave woman, the only thing that matters is that we listen to what is recommended to us and that we conscientiously respect the measures prescribed to limit the spread of the virus. Only this way, we can protect others, and they can protect us. Because, there were also moments when it was very difficult and when the hospital was full:

“Hospital was immediately divided into zones, for us to coordinate properly. One of the worst moments was when my parents were hospitalized. Luckily, they went safely through COVID-19. Close friends of mine lost their son in our Clinic and I was the one to inform them. In many occasions I felt defeated, but then we got strength from incredible people that survived”, said Dr. Berisha. 

She is saying that she experienced many tragic moments, and all this has left scars in her heart, changed her outlook on life. It is certainly a proof that doctors are not omnipotent either, but we forget that doctors are special people, who take care of the health of other people within their capabilities and with great effort - because every life counts.

Every new piece of equipment that arrives at the hospital is invaluable and much needed, and those fighting in the frontlines like Dr. Lindita know this the best. Equipment from simple pipettes to advanced ventilators, from continuously needed testing kits to hospital beds - they were critical in this admirable struggle to save human lives. That is why it is important to continue supporting the health sector. Development partners in Kosovo have acknowledged this urgent need and made a great effort to support this fight against this joint, difficult enemy.

Through UNDP Kosovo’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Facility project, with generous contributions from Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Norway and UNDP’s core funding, we have supported Kosovo’s health system and the people with essential equipment and items.

Together, among others, we have delivered 40 mobile ventilators and 52,500 PCR testing kits at the very beginning of pandemic. Recently, we delivered 66,240 PCR pipette tips, to conclude this joint effort.

At the end of our conversation, this amazing woman – Dr. Lindita - reminds us to wear a mask and keep the distance, because pandemic is not yet over. Everything starts from individual behavior and the health system can easily collapse if measures are not respected.