Netcare Kingsway Hospital decided to celebrate their ‘heroes’ who were on the frontline to fight Covid-19 by participating in the ‘Jerusalema’ dance challenge on Friday, 28 August. It features people dancing to the hit song Jerusalema by South African musician Master KG which has taken social media by storm.
To quote Master KG: “It feels like people needed something to ease them off the pain and confusion of our times”, which Kingsway Hospital general manager, Annatjie Demetriou agrees with. “For our healthcare providers, this has been a very challenging and emotional five month long journey of combating Covid-19 – a journey where everyone battled against the virus and placed themselves in the path of this unprecedented crisis.
Nurses, doctors, EMTs, pharmacists, technicians and everyone who supports patient care have risen above the occasion and cared for our patients. From the beginning we prepared ourselves by reading everything we could find about the virus and listening to every healthcare worker’s story of their personal experiences.
Our determination was stronger than our fear. We wanted to fight this virus with our compassion and perseverance. Strength was not an option; it remained our duty to our patients who trusted us and expected us to make every effort to save them.
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Some of these patients were the inspiration to those caring for them and encouragement to, yet again, go to work for another shift – soldiering alongside the bed, in hot, uncomfortable PPE, feeling their pain and suffering, struggling to communicate through the mask and visor, and sometimes just sitting in the bathroom, crying from shear physical and psychological exhaustion. Even with all the support and guidance provided to our healthcare workers, the emotional experience was overwhelming!”
So how did these ‘frontline soldiers’ cope?
“We remained calm and implemented and adhered to Netcare’s comprehensive protocols. The hardest part was to deal with the restriction of visitors. While patients are fighting for their lives and depending on the person next to their bed – their hero – we see the fear in their eyes. It naturally increases our own fears for our families and loved ones, but we could not and did not give up.
While we had to cope with stress and exhaustion, there was also hope and looking forward to the new normal – hence the decision to participate in the Jerusalema dance.” The Jerusalema dance gave everyone the opportunity to let go of these crippling emotions and start Spring with a renewed energy and zest for life.
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Watching the hospital staff take up the challenge with such enthusiasm and peels of laughter uplifted the soul to such an extent that it made one realise that no virus will ever end mankind. That if we continue to love and care for each other, there is still hope for humanity.
“To our heroes at Netcare Kingsway Hospital: Thank you for the sacrifices you make every day and especially during this pandemic. Your dedication, commitment and courage deserve our deepest gratitude and admiration. Your service to patients has been saving countless lives and making thousands of differences. Thank you so much for all your hard work and support during this difficult time.
Your humility, kindness and strength are greatly appreciated. Thank you for being our patients’ and their loved ones ’guiding lights in the face of adversity and welcoming back our community and patients to a safe and compassionate environment.”
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