Youth on the Frontlines: How COVID is shaping our medical practitioners

Why do we call them frontliners? As in a war, a commander places his strongest, fiercest soldiers on the frontlines to bulwark the battalion’s defense. Although each soldier is equally crucial to execute the battle strategy, the ones on the frontlines are conceivably the most courageous—and simultaneously, the most fearful—of the platoon.

In March 2020, medical warfare came to pass the world over. The upsurge of COVID-19, an extremely lethal and unpredictable virus, changed the field of medicine for all time, and without a vaccine near development, the human race entered its darkest chapter since the Holocaust. COVID, however, was met with a formidable foe: the young frontliner.

At the frontlines of this medical warfare are the nurses, doctors, and hospital staffers who endlessly risk their health—and for many, their lives—to shield the masses from the virus. Modern heroes, they’re called, and rightfully so.

Frontliners Dr. Podi Folloso and Senior Nurse Noemi Saniel are linchpins of courage and valor, and their experience on the frontlines are harrowing as they are inspiring.

Dr. Emil Mari “Podi” Folloso, a first-year medical resident at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, was baptized by fire when COVID began to ravage the country. “Sobrang nakakagulat. It was not expected na mangyayari during a first year medical residency,” he says. “Being a medical resident in NKTI, I already prepared myself na magiging mahirap, magiging toxic ‘yung stay ko, and yet naging mas challenging pa nung nagkaron ng COVID.”

Noemi Pagtama-Saniel, Head Nurse and Cardiovascular Technologist also at NKTI, puts Gal-Gadot-filming-Wonder-Woman-while-pregnant to shame, as she withstood the effects of COVID while pregnant. At 36 years old, her pregnancy is considered high-risk.

Folloso and Saniel were ambushed, and no episode of Grey’s Anatomy could have prepared them for this ordeal. Despite the virus’ framework being undecipherable, it effortlessly distorted the framework of NKTI (and life as we know it). “Nagbago lahat ‘yung management. Nagbago rin ‘yung usual na hina-handle namin. Parang we need to step up from what we were expected to be,” Folloso says.

Dr. Emil Mari “Podi” Folloso in 2019.

Photo taken from his Facebook profile.

And step up, he did. Having only graduated from the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery in 2018, Folloso, in the spirit of service and sacrifice, had no choice but to brave the onslaught of the pandemic fresh from training. “I think my experience with COVID as a first-year medical resident made me stronger, more confident in managing not only COVID patients but even those who are non-COVID,” he shares. “Mas alam ko na ang gagawin, pag nag-toxic ‘yung patient, mas alam ko on how to manage the acute problems.”

Supervising twenty nurses, Saniel was well aware that while she needed her work, her work needed her more. “Since ito na ‘yung chosen profession ko, nasa supervisory position ako, inisip ko may twenty akong kasama na umaasa din sakin,” she shares. ”Nakikita nila na parang strong ako, pero deep inside, natatakot ako kasi pag-uwi mo, ‘di mo alam kung nauwi mo yung virus.” The baby-voiced Noemi is not merely a nurse, she is a commander, and her battalion depends on her to lead them to victory. With frontliners like Noemi, our common enemy faces a fierce resistance. And best of all, a woman leads this fight—a pregnant one at that.

“For me, ang pagiging nurse naman ay hindi mo lang maia-apply sa work, maia-apply mo rin ito sa sarili mo at sa family mo most especially,” Saniel expresses on the profession she was smitten with as a young girl—her words still blazing with ardor as she shares the plight of the frontliner. “Despite the fear na nararamdaman namin, kailangan namin sumabak kasi kailangan ng NKTI ‘yung contribution namin.”

Nurse Noemi Pagtama-Saniel in April 2021, after the birth of her daughter.

Photo taken from her Facebook profile.

Alas, in any war, there are no victors. As for anyone devastated by its lingering outcomes, Folloso faces his own demons on the battlefield, manifesting after he fails to salvage a patient.

“There are times na may kakulangan on my part, and minsan I take the blame,” he confesses. “Feeling ko ako may kasalanan. ‘Bakit di ko nagawa ‘to? Bakit di ko nagawa ‘yan?’” But he ventures on as any soldier would, learning from his faults instead of dwelling on them.

Most soldiers have battle scars they show off as a badge of honor—an emblem of their physical and mental resolve in the face of death. Folloso and Saniel’s battle scar is COVID itself.

Although he was careful to a fault, Folloso contracted the virus in the last place he thought he could get it—at home. “I had mild symptoms: colds, coughs. I’ve been careful naman sa hospital, wearing my PPE, wearing my mask. I live with my brother, who is also a doctor. Apparently he got infected, and I also got infected from him.” Mercifully, he has made a full recovery, and now confronts the virus with more courage than before.

Saniel was not only pregnant while supervising twenty nurses, she too fought a battle with the virus’ symptoms on her body. “I got infected last July 14,” she shares. ”Ni-recommend na all throughout my pregnancy, since high risk nga ako, kailangan kong mag-rest, or hindi na ko pwede mag-work muna sa hospital.” However, like a true commander (and Wonder Woman), she says she’ll be back on the frontlines, serving her patients once her maternity leave ends.

However, despite having a determined facade, Saniel confesses the fear that comes with contracting the virus, magnified by her high-risk pregnancy. “Nung nalaman ko na na-infect ako, emotionally depressed ako,” she admits. Even Meredith Grey had her moments of weakness, but through prayer and an undying sense of heroism, Saniel defied adversity and rose victorious.

Addressing the elephant in the room, Folloso admits he wishes the government was more responsible in leading the war against COVID. Apart from being the “sacrificial lambs” of NKTI, Folloso and his fellow first-years faced a wave of unearned troubles due to the government’s clumsy disaster response.

“Sobrang irresponsible ‘yung nangyari. The government could have done better kung nakinig lang talaga sila regarding sa opinions of the experts.”

“One of the mistakes na nangyari was the early removal of the quarantine,” he adds. “If it was from the very start napaghandaan, I think it would not rise to these numbers. Even February pa lang and early March, naririnig na natin ‘yung COVID from other countries, and I think we should have been prepared for that.”

After all, war is needless under a peaceful regime, but for Filipinos, peace is too far off the horizon. As our so-called leaders are blinded by their false sense of valiance, presenting military solutions to an unmistakably medical problem, frontliners like Folloso and Saniel bear the brunt of this war, and sadly, our admiration will not compensate for the physical and mental injuries they have suffered to protect us.

“More of a call to the public to always stay on guard, always wear your PPEs,” Folloso says on how we can help our frontliners. “Some may say na nakakapagod na nakakulong lang sa bahay for seven months, but it’s for your own safety as well as those around you.” A small price to pay to continue breathing with ease.

Both Dr. Folloso and Noemi agree that fear is paramount in these grim times, for fear regulates carelessness and negligence. “‘Yung taong masa nagiging masyadong lax, nagiging relaxed masyado regarding the approach to COVID, nawawalan sila ng takot and I think it really affects kung pano mawawala ‘yung COVID sa atin,” Folloso expresses.

Although they are both flattered being called modern heroes, it will never come close to the fulfillment they gain from saving lives from a lethal virus and the government that bolsters its ammunition.

As the iconic Nurse Ratched said, “Save one life and you’re a hero. Save a hundred, well then you’re a nurse.” Whether they care or not, frontliners like Folloso and Saniel are heroes. Their courage, decency, and conviction of purpose are a testament to the valor of the human spirit, and the endless possibilities it can achieve in the name of service and sacrifice. All we can say is, thank you.

Originally written for and submitted as a requirement for J111 under Prof. Rachel Khan.