Dr. Priya Chopra, my mother, is a General Surgeon at William Osler’s Brampton Civic Hospital. She’s been working there for more than 19 years and has had patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV), Ebola, and now COVID-19 in her workplace. General Surgeons operate on patients with breast cancer, abdominal cancer, hernias and other organ issues.

 

As the curve has not been flattened, she works from home with non-urgent cases and goes to the hospital to operate on patients in crucial conditions. During weekdays, she can either be on the phone or at the hospital. Consulting patients via phone is not easy, but she does it. We have a limited number of appropriate workspaces for online work and school but, as a family, we are able to collaborate in these tough times.

 

Everytime she goes to the hospital to operate on emergency patients or work in the emergency department, she is surrounded with COVID-19 patients and germs. This is a very stressful time for everyone; however, knowing your mother is voluntarily risking her and her family’s health everyday to help improve others’ health is worrisome. 

 

It also makes me proud to have a mother so brave. I always try to greet her with a nice hug when she comes home. With extra time on my hands, I am able to complete a lot more chores and relax with her. We play cards and Scrabble together. As a family, we are learning some new card games and are watching some TV shows, which included the older season of the Grey’s Anatomy series. Making sure we all have a strong sense of well-being at this time is very important to stay calm and sane.

 

To conclude, having a mother on the front lines is stressful and makes me a bit anxious. However, we are dealing with it. 

 

Stay home and stay safe.