COVID-19: ‘I am emotionally broken’ – Korle Bu doctor recounts moments his son called him wicked
“It saddens my heart any time I come home. I cannot hug my son like I would have ordinarily done any time I entered the house after work.”
That is one of the many the struggles and sacrifices a Neurosurgeon at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Hadi Abdullah, shared as Ghana battles to curtail the dreaded coronavirus spread.
In a JoyNews interview, monitored by theghanareport.com , the doctor recalled riveting accounts of how his life and routine at home had changed since the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19.
Afraid of bringing home coronavirus contamination, he sometimes had to use the backdoor to avoid his children seeing and meeting him.
“At some point, I’ve had to deal with deal my son calling me wicked simply because I refused to give him the bottle of water I was drinking. I am emotionally broken. It has really changed my life significantly.
“Just like my son called me wicked because I refused to give him water. And since then he hasn’t spoken to me. Most of the things we took for granted is now a big deal,” he said with a heavy sigh.
Dr Abdullah said he was afraid of getting the virus, most importantly because of fear that he might pass it on to the rest of his family.
He noted, “I feel like there is a dark cloud around the world and we are fighting an invisible enemy.”
Dr Abdullah further stressed on the need to provide frontline workers with personal protective equipment in order to avoid spreading the virus.
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He was quick to add that the government was not doing enough in that regard.
“From where I sit, I think the health workers have been really neglected. I decided to buy my face mask and other things to keep me safe. Neurosurgeons were not considered as part of the risk group,” he disclosed.
“We can get exposed at any time,” he stressed.
Ghana’s coronavirus case count, as at April 20, stood at 1,042.
Regions that have reported cases are Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Eastern, Western, Volta, Northern, North East, Upper East, and Upper West.
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