She is one of the so-called medical frontliners as the country fights the spread of the coronavirus disease or COVID-19.
Dr. Grace Carras-Torres knows that her chosen profession would be of greater risk in dealing with the pandemic. Little did she know that she will also become part of the statistics and realized that she was not yet ready to die.
“Ngayon lang ako natakot. Napaiyak ako. Hindi pa ako handang mamatay,” Caras-Torres said in a Facebook post.
She even revealed that she is identified as “Patient No. 194”. There are now 462 cases of COVID019 in the country. 33 have died and 18 recovered from the disease.
“Kailangan pa ako ng anak ko. Sasabak pa ako sa gyera… Hindi lang pala virus ang kalaban ko, pati katinuan ng pag-iisip,” she wrote.
The 42-year-old doctor said that she had repeated high-grade fevers, unusual headaches, and body malaise, and lost her appetite.
What she thought was Chikungunya, a virus spread to people through a mosquito bite, turned out to be the dreaded COVID-19.
“Saka lang nag-sink in sa ‘kin na posibleng COVID nga ito nung malaman kong may symptoms din yung kasama kong mag-opera ilang araw nang nakalipas,” she added.
The doctor said that she is under home quarantine after exhibiting symptoms on March 7. She was tested for COVID-19 on March 7 and received her positive result on March 19.
She is worried that she could’ve exposed her 4-year-old child, her senior citizen parents, and the rest of her family to the virus.
“Di bale nang ako, wag lang sila. Nagkulong na ako sa kwarto. Nag-birthday akong naka-quarantine at may sakit na nakamamatay. Buti pala umabot pa ako ng 42…ang mga colleagues kong may COVID ay naka-intubate,” added.
Although she is not yet fully recovered and still experiencing symptoms related to the dreaded disease, Carras-Torres tells the public to reach out to those who may in home quarantine and ask how they are.
“Kamustahin niyo mga kakilala nyong may sakit, mga naka-quarantine, at ang pamilya nila. Kelangan nila ng pagpapalakas ng loob,” she said.
“Sana matapos na ito. Sana gumaling na kami. Sana wala nang mamatay. Ngunit salamat pa din sa lahat ng taong tumulong at nangamusta. Too many to mention. Mahal ko kayo. At Diyos ko, maraming salamat po at buhay pa ako at okay ang pamilya ko.,” she added.
