Eva’s mother lay on her bed. With an oxygen mask over her face. She was a 4th stage lung cancer survivor. Eva’s family was never rich. But somehow managed to buy an oxygen cylinder machine for her mother. She was the love and hope of their lives. The family sat in their two-room flat, staring blankly at the TV screen as they saw the number of COVID-19 patients increase. They all pretended to be fine. But were they really? A few days later, Eva’s mother complained of having serious breathing issues and sudden high fever.
She was rushed to the nearby health centre. The scene there was horrifying. The number of patients clearly outnumbered the available beds and the medical staff wasn’t sufficient as well. They run the swab test on her and after a few days, the reports came. She tested positive.
As a doctor, the toughest decision one has to make has to be to choose which patient’s life was more precious when you clearly don’t have the resources to save them all.
Eva’s family had long struggled to keep her mother alive. They spent all their life savings on her treatment in the past two years. Eva was just 17. She clearly couldn’t afford to lose her mother.
They saw a woman being admitted into the hospital whose husband was standing beside her with red and puffy eyes carrying their little baby in his arms. Upon inquiry, they got to know she was COVID-19 positive too.
Considering the present scarcity of medical assistance and resources, the head doctor explained the condition to both the families expressing his inability to save both of them.
Eva listened all this teary-eyed and shouted at the end, “I can’t lose her, she’s all I’ve got. I love her so much. This can’t be happening.”
The one with a toddler in his arms felt helpless seeing a 16-year-old cry frantically in front of him.
When Eva’s mother got to know about it, she answered in a heartbeat, “I’m ready to die, love. I have been for a long time. Let the other woman live. She deserves to live, and moreover, her baby is so small now and needs love and care. Eva, look at me, princess.”
Eva couldn’t understand how her mother so easily decided to give up on her life. “Mumma,I need you.”
“I know you do, but that baby needs a his mother more.”, replied the brave and courageous lady.
Eva’s mother volunteered to die.
So that a soul she didn’t even know properly could thrive.
Coronavirus might have taken several lives, but it can never take away humanity.
Eva went on to realize how a single decision of selflessness can be a ray of hope for others.
As long as we hold on to the little light of humanity still inside of us, COVID is yet another disease that will give up eventually.

Name-Anjali Sinha

College- RCC INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.