Raheleh, nurse in Iran: "We tell ourselves that death is near us"

Text by: Sara Saidi Follow

Nurses are on the front line facing the coronavirus. From Europe to America via Africa and the Middle East, RFI gives them a voice. Iran, with nearly 110,000 confirmed cases and more than 6,500 deaths according to official figures, is the Middle East country most affected by coronavirus. Raheleh, a 27-year-old young nurse, was on the front line from the start of the crisis. For her, there is clearly a before and an after.

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“  The first feeling you feel is that of fear. Fear of the unknown: What is this disease, how can I act, how can I help, what danger for me and my family?  "Says Raheleh, a nursing student in Tehran. For five years, in addition to her studies, the young woman has been practicing in the hospital. Before the coronavirus crisis she worked in the neurosurgery department of a public hospital in Tehran. Overnight, from March 1, his patients were moved and his service was one of the first to be transformed into Covid-19 service: "  It was very difficult at first, because caring for patients with coronavirus it is not the same as caring for patients with neurological problems  ”, explains the young woman of 27 years. So habits had to be changed quickly: “  We didn't have time for information meetings or training. We updated each one individually and passed on the information to each other,  ”says Raheleh.

For her, it is therefore the beginning of daily journeys between the hospital and the family home and, with the stress of infecting her parents: “  Each time I come home, I take the risk of infecting my family. Among my colleagues, some have sent their children and their spouses to live with their parents so as not to expose them,  "she explains before adding:"  Even if my parents are aware of the danger involved in my job, I see the concern in their eyes every morning when I go to work and every evening when I come back,  ”she says.

"  Twenty seconds before, he was conscious and suddenly he was no longer there  "

But already in Tehran, people are flocking to the doors of the hospital: “  We welcomed a lot of people at the start. As soon as people cough, they say to themselves : that's it, I have the coronavirus, I have to come to the hospital,  ”recalls Raheleh. The young nurse says that all the patients with symptoms were hospitalized and isolated pending the results of their tests: "  Most were negative,  " she says. It was only after the dissemination of more precise information on the disease, symptoms and barrier gestures, in particular through social networks, the media and doctors, that the number of patients who presented to the hospital decreased: "  From then on, those who came were often positive and in a more serious condition  ," says the young woman. Thus, in mid-April, almost the entire hospital was dedicated to patients with coronavirus. Raheleh sees patients of all ages, and observes a high mortality rate: "  When a patient's condition deteriorates and he dies an hour before, he was perfectly conscious and spoke to us, it is a terrible feeling that you will never forget  , ”she explains.

The nurse particularly remembers a 65-year-old man with a heart history: “  His condition was getting worse. At one point his oxygen saturation was so low that he had to be intubated. He was still conscious but I saw the fear in his eyes, as if he felt that it was perhaps one of the last moments of his life. When he injected the first dose of the anesthetic, he had a heart attack. Twenty seconds before he was conscious and suddenly he was no longer there. It was very hard for me and I can still see the face of this man in front of me,  ”she says in a broken voice.

Conversely , the first patient cured gives hope to the team: "  We then realized that it was possible to treat patients, so we redoubled our efforts,  " she says. In addition, in front of the number of cures, the worries of the population are also appeased: “  At the beginning, people said to themselves: I have the coronavirus so I am going to die. Then as they saw the recovery in their entourage, this notion of inevitable end disappeared,  ”explains the nurse.

► To read also: Coronavirus: Iran, the regime before the people?

Lack of nursing staff

The Iranian health system is one of the most developed in the Middle East. However, the government has been slow to take action, resulting in an explosion in the number of confirmed cases. US sanctions also complicate the fight against the virus by hampering the supply of foreign medical equipment because Tehran does not have access to financial markets. On March 31, Europe therefore used the Instex barter system for the first time to be able to supply Iran with material bypassing the embargo. Raheleh does not wish to speak on the subject but confirms that she “  felt the effects of the sanctions . "She states that in her department they never lacked protective equipment but that these were nevertheless limited in number:"  It has also happened that the nursing manager is obliged to give us his own equipment so that we can be with of the sick  ”. The nurse insists on the solidarity and the effort of the Iranians: "  Pharmaceutical companies have started to produce antiseptic gels as a priority, the faculty of pharmacy of our university has also taken on the production of this type of products  ", she explains.

According to the young student, the hospital mainly had to face a significant shortage of nursing staff "  There were hires and the hospitals even called retirees but it was not enough, because the patients of the coronavirus need for care sometimes 24 hours a day,  ”explains the nurse, who therefore had to make additional guards:“  The workload was greater but even so it was hard to compensate  ”. Faced with the emergency, the supervising university therefore decided to hire volunteers: “  At each guard, a volunteer is responsible for checking that the patients are not lacking in anything. He helps them eat and walk and if he finds anything abnormal, he comes to warn us so that we act accordingly,  ”explains Raheleh.

In addition to the workload, for the caregivers the psychological pressure is important: “  We all felt the same fear, but we said nothing, we kept everything for ourselves. We preferred to make jokes to change the atmosphere,  ”explains the young woman. She added that after two weeks a psychological monitoring system had been put in place in each department. The nursing staff were then invited to speak on a What's App group administered by a psychologist: “  We realized that we are not alone and that our colleagues have the same concerns as us. It helped relieve stress,  ”she says.

The heroes of society

Several colleagues from Raheleh were nevertheless infected with the virus and were hospitalized in his department "  but once cured they all returned to work,  " she explains. Heroes whom the Iranian people applaud: “ Our work is put forward. People have more respect for what we do. They understand the essential nature of our business much better  , ”says Raheleh.

The Iranian population also paid tribute to several nurses who died in the exercise of their function, in particular on social networks. The first, Narjes Khanalizadeh, 25, worked in Gilan province. Positive for the coronavirus, the results of his test were not revealed until a week after his death. On the networks, Internet users then denounced the lack of protective equipment for nursing staff and the tendency of the regime to want to hide deaths from the coronavirus.

For Raheleh, life will no longer be there even after this health crisis: “  The death of our infected colleagues has affected us even more. We tell ourselves that death is not so far from us. We are more aware of what is going on around us. We pay even more attention to hygiene and we have the feeling that everything we touch could be contaminated and that upsets the future and our outlook on life  . ” she concludes.

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