A glimpse into the life outside walls
A new dawn breaks in the quiet abyss. What was considered before as a city filled with laughter and enjoyment has now become a dystopia where heroes are seen not with vibrant capes or shiny plate mails but non-woven face masks made from polypropylene plastics. And in a world where the heroes protect its citizens, one question arises: Who protects the heroes?
During the onslaught of the pandemic, 28-year old Nicole Rocamora Delgado, was assigned to the Sanitation Inspecting and Diagnostic Unit. Although she was designated towards handling food, water, and environmental sanitation, she is also a nurse by profession and therefore needs to answer to the call of duty. As part of the city’s Testing Unit for the COVID-19 pandemic, she and her team, was also tasked in tracing all close contacts for testing and advising them for isolation if necessary. Consequently, she also aids her fellow medical technologists in preparing viral transport media for specimen collection during swab testing.
As a front liner, she is always at a higher risk of getting infected by the virus. With the nature of her job, accompanied by the thought of her loving children left at home, she opens her eyes and heads towards a frivolous battlefield with a crippling fear that almost paralyzes her every single day.
When these fears render her immobile, she looks back at her hardest storms, when her son was diagnosed with rare congenital heart disease. She tries to look back and feel the emotions during those times- how every minute felt like an eternity, how every tear breaks her apart, and how people held on with her along the way. She realizes that against all odds, she overcame that trial in the end.
As such, even when she is far away from home, she manages to push through, accompanied by the help of her team from the City Health Office. Despite the lingering terror that surrounds them, they always do their best to put a smile on each other’s faces, treating one another as a family. Together, they pulled through even during sleepless nights.
Throughout her entire experience, she can assure one incredible thing, “Iba talaga ang Pinoy!” In moments like these, she says that one should recognize and appreciate the tenacity and resiliency of Filipinos. According to her, she has “known a lot of Filipinos, especially those who worked overseas and lost their jobs during the pandemic that still made their way through. “And that’s just the spirit!” she exclaimed.
Despite being encapsulated in an environment where life and death hang in the scale, she remains unfazed as she carries out the warmth and faith of other people who believe in her. As a former Cor Jesian, the school reminded her of the strength she needed to work, one of which is to serve other people with devotion and values. It is through her undying servitude to help the greater good that has become her strength and driving force even when faced with risks every single day.
Much like her, countless individuals are willing to put themselves on the front lines of war to fend off this viral antagonist that has wreaked havoc on numerous innocent lives. They are our modern-day heroes. However, in a world where they are sought to protect all of us, who’s going to protect them? The answer is quite simple- it’s us. We are drawn and called to become our own version of modern-day heroes. This is because all of us are destined and made for unique greatness.
As the tunnel of our future begins to dim, we become the bright lights that will guide our medical heroes towards the end of this nightmare- a beacon that will lead them. And as we near towards the shimmering brilliance that awaits us at the pinnacle of this madness, may we all be like Nicole Rocamora Delgado, as we journey together, hand in hand, heading towards the hope of a brighter tomorrow.
By Keanne Pyke Bucol
