"Being constantly on the alert generates a strong sense of unity"

Dr. Alon Kachel, Rehabilitation Medicine intern at Reuth

I am doing my internship at Reuth’s Head Injuries Rehabilitation Ward. Patients here remain in hospital for weeks and sometimes even months, due to their complex injuries. When COVID-19 broke out, they had to get used to quite a few changes and new directives. During the lockdown families were not allowed to visit, and so we, the staff, became their family.

The constant alertness required when monitoring and treating such severely disabled patients generates a great sense of unity in the ward. A feeling that we are all in this together, responsible for one another, working together toward a common goal.

When the lockdown was declared in Israel, my children asked me why I kept on going to work, while other dads stayed home. I explained that power must be accompanied by responsibility. We doctors have the power to treat people even when it’s less convenient, even when we feel tired, even when our work threatens our own health – because that’s part of the responsibility that comes with this profession.

At such times of extreme uncertainty, anxiety is always there. The teams are constantly on the alert and all resources are utilized for the patients’ welfare.

It’s very important to keep our heads above the water, maintain our high spirits and optimism, even in today’s challenging reality. Personally, I continued to do my daily workout every night when I came home to keep up my positive energy and improve my immune system.

In one sentence: The interns at Reuth continued to do their very best for their patients, even under the COVID-19 pandemic.