Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Sep 13, 2020 News
By Sharmain Grainger
Although some may present with distinct signs and symptoms, without the completion of a laboratory test, diseases, the likes of COVID-19, cannot be diagnosed definitively.
At least this is according to those within the health sector who have been paying close attention to all the known hallmarks of the disease with the aim of being better able to eradicate it.
But given the unprecedented spread of the coronavirus causing disease in recent weeks, many persons have been flocking, mainly to public health facilities, to be tested.
As a consequence, the public health sector’s capacity to test has been tremendously stretched to the point that the government was forced to resort to overseas assistance to ease an overwhelming backlog.
HARD-PRESSED
So extraordinary has been the pressure on the system since COVID-19 that there were multiple occasions when persons would have passed away before their tests results was known. In fact, in recent weeks many persons have complained about the delay, sometimes for weeks, before they were made aware of their COVID-19 status.
Given the forgoing, it is abundantly clear that it is not only those providing accelerated services in the emergency room or those performing duties on the wards who are hard-pressed in the fight against the disease.
Those in the laboratories also have a crucial role to play. In essence, they are the ones who must help the physicians with accurate diagnoses so that the appropriate treatment can be provided. Maxine Massay certainly has an appreciation for the importance of those working in the laboratory, after all, she is one of those working beyond the call of duty in such a setting.
Massay, a laboratory aide at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), is being recognised today as our ‘Frontline Worker of the Week’ because of the significant role she plays in helping persons to get the right diagnosis.
SAFETY CONSCIOUSNESS
No one saw 2020 being the year where a mere diagnosis of a disease could sentence a person to isolation and others who might have been around them into instant quarantine. Worse still, is the fact that such a diagnosis could be a death sentence if the immune system is not boosted enough.
For that reason, health care professionals have been encouraging persons to safeguard themselves from the disease by boosting their system doing age-old things such as eating a balance diet and exercising. Of course ‘pepping up’ the system with vitamins, especially the C kind, in addition to other measures such as social distancing and proper hygiene are important too, so that in the event it comes under attack, it can prove to be resilient.
The nature of Massay’s job makes her very conscious of the importance of protecting herself, and others too. But her safety consciousness did not merely materialised when COVID-19 came to our shores earlier this year, rather, Massay fully understands that there are risks that must be avoided as far as possible when working in a laboratory or in the health care system for that matter.
As such, the arrival of COVID-19 merely helped to cement a truth in her psyche that she had long known – safety always comes first. “I follow the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and when I’m at work, we are provided with personal protective equipment (PPEs),” Massay shared.
Reflecting on her decision to delve into the field of health care, Massay said, “I have always loved lab work and science since in school. So, making this decision was easy, for me.” Massay, who received on-the-job training at the GPHC, has stayed the course 12 years later teeming with experience for such a time as this.
PARTICULAR SET OF SKILLS
Born to parents Derek Massay and Cleatus Vieira on May 5, 1985 as the second of two children, no one could have predicted that a few months into this year, Massay would have been on the frontline using her ‘particular set of skills’ to help wage war against a dreaded pandemic.
Not even in her imagination as a child, back when she attended the Stella Maris Primary School and then the Richard Ishmael Secondary, could she have envisioned such exploits. What she did know, however, was that she was driven by a burning passion that she simply couldn’t quell.
And so, these days, even in the face of COVID-19, almost effortlessly and fearlessly too, she does her part and the reason for this, Massay shared recently, “I have a genuine love and passion for my job.”
But just like most people, Massay, during the early days of the outbreak here, was especially worried about becoming infected.
“Initially I was afraid, but as we received information and training about the virus and ways that we can protect ourselves and family, that fear subsided,” revealed the Pike Street, Kitty, Georgetown resident.
FRAGILITY OF LIFE
The arrival of COVID-19 brought with it a stark realisation of the fragility of life. In recognising this state of affairs, Massay after searching for just the right words, shared her personal conviction that “Life is short, in a second, it can all change. Love, treasure and appreciate your family and loved ones while you can.”
For this reason, our Frontline Worker uses wisdom in choosing the best way to let her family members, and the others she holds close to her heart, know that she cares. “We communicate electronically,” she confided when asked about spending time with those near and dear these days.
But even though she cannot enjoy family and other social gatherings that were the norm just months ago, Massay has fond memories of the many fun things she had done over the years, some during the not so distant past, that have helped to fashion her into the human being she is today. “I love swimming, travelling and hanging out with my friends,” said Massay who has been willing to give it all up to do her part to help snatch humanity back from the grip of a pandemic that daily threatens our extinction.
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