We'd asked you, Dear Readers, to tell us who your everyday superhero is and share stories about the extraordinary women you know and admire.
Mithileysh Sathiyanarayanan from London writes about the lessons he learned from Dr Sharanya Rajan's committment to work and society during the pandemic.
We all know that healthcare jobs are more painstaking than others, especially during an epidemic or the pandemic.
It's expected that people who take on these jobs understand the risks and follow the necessary guidelines to stay as safe as possible. However, working every day during these challenging times is not easy.
In the current COVID situation, there are millions of healthcare workers who work 24x7 to provide medical care to patients, including nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, EMTs, and many others.
They have a markedly higher risk of becoming infected, especially if they are exposed to a high volume of sick patients (such as in the emergency room) or respiratory secretions (such as intensive care unit healthcare providers).
My wife Dr Sharanya Rajan, who works in the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, was one such person who went through several hardships to demonstrate how important it is to be committed in a profession and serve the society.
She worked almost 15 to 18 hours at full-stretch and for several months, I could not get a chance to talk with her properly.
At one point, when she got affected with COVID, she prayed for a speedy recovery so she could get back to work and treat more severely affected people. That was the determination and commitment I could see in her.
A few life lessons I learnt from my wife in the last two years:
- We need to be more HUMAN than be a HUSBAND. Understand their job, roles and responsibilities as a doctor.
- We must learn to trust their judgments.
- We must learn to understand outside factors and support them in all possible ways.
- We must learn to be flexible and adapt to the situations.
- We must keep our mind calm to tackle the situations or address any problems/challenges.
- We must cultivate work ethics that helps us grow in a positive direction.
Not only does a career in the medical profession require a high level of skill and intelligence, it demands a level of dedication and commitment that is hard for most people to fathom until they make the decision to pursue a medicine.
My admiration for my wife and the medical profession has just gone up several notches during this pandemic.
When life returns to some sense of normalcy, I am hopeful that the bravery, commitment, and heroism of women healthcare workers throughout this crisis will be recognized and appropriately acknowledged.
On this International Women's Day, I take this opportunity to thank all the women workers across the globe who have tirelessly worked hard and contributed to the community development.
May you all continue to inspire more people.
This International Women's Day, celebrate the Extraordinary Women in your life.
Please share her story with us and tell us what Life Lessons you have learnt from her.
Send us their stories (at least 100 words), their photographs, their videos if you like, to getahead@rediff.co.in (Subjectline: The Woman I Admire). Do include their name and location.
Don't forget to mention your name and location. We'll feature the best responses right here on Rediff.com.
