Exclusive: Despite Mom’s Appeal, Indian Doctor Stays Back to Save Lives in China

While the entire world is cocooning itself into self-isolation following the dangerous spread of COVID-19, there is one community that deserves our eternal respect for their tireless efforts in combating this threat. The medical community across the globe; the doctors who have put their own lives at grave risk to stick to their Hippocratic Oath and save humankind from this strain of coronavirus.

And if there happens to be a blazing precedent of selflessness, Dr Amish Vyas definitely remains at the forefront. The Madhya Pradesh-born doctor has been resolutely serving in Coronavirus-hit Hangzhou, China for the past few months, ignoring his mother’s desperate pleas to return home to safety.

Speaking to The Better India (TBI), his sister Parul Vyas, shared her brother’s iron determination and kindness, which pervades way beyond his medical duties and accounts to saving hundreds of lives through treatment, emergency rescue and sharing of rations.

“He Instantly Wanted to Serve in Coronavirus hit Wuhan”

“We were born and brought up in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh. My brother Amish went to Hangzhou, China in 2007 to pursue a degree in medicine. He also completed his Master’s and PhD there, specialising as a plastic surgeon. Afterwards, he decided to settle down in China itself. He now stays in Hangzhou with his wife, daughter and mother-in-law,” shares Parul.

In late 2019, when China’s Wuhan emerged as the epicentre of the Coronavirus outbreak, the entire province immediately went into an emergency lockdown. Thousands of affected patients battled with life, as the virus slowly started making inroads into neighbouring provinces of Wuhan.

“Hangzhou is quite far (757 km) from Wuhan, but once my brother heard about the crisis, he was desperate to help out,” informs Parul. In fact, Amish even contemplated travelling to Wuhan and lend a helping hand to his medical counterparts in the hour of need. However, his superiors at the medical college forbade him from taking this dangerous step.

Before long, Coronavirus massively affected Hangzhou as well. Both Amish and his wife, who is also a doctor, immediately signed up to serve at the quarantine camp set up at a medical institute. They have been serving there tirelessly ever since. 

Going Beyond the Call of Duty

Such was Amish’s dedication that he fashioned a mask from his own clothes when there was a shortage of safety masks at the camp. Being a seasoned doctor, he knew how to keep himself safe, and invested sleepless hours in saving others. 

“He not only saved lives through treatment, but he also offered up his own stored food to people in urgent need. The lockdown only permitted one person from a family to go out for rations once in two days, that too with heavy precautions. Amish stepped up amid this crisis and shared his own supplies,” Parul reveals. 

Back home in Ratlam, Amish’s mother has been worried sick ever since she learnt about the epidemic in China. The thought of her only son and his family trapped in the heart of a pathological emergency give her nightmares.

“Like any mother, she appeals to Amish and his family to come back with his family to Ratlam for the time being, till things get better. But, my brother had been sternly resolute in his decision to stay back and serve,” Parul proudly asserts. 

No New Cases Coming In 

His family is in regular touch with him through phone and video calls and he has reassured them about his own safety. 

“Only recently, he happily informed us that none of the treated cases have shown any signs of relapse and most of the cases have been effectively handled. There are almost no new cases adding up anymore.” 

The lockdown in Hangzhou was lifted a week back and the situation is gradually returning to normalcy. But, across the world, the struggle is far from over for devoted doctors like Amish Vyas. He continues to appeal to his global counterparts to stay calm and keep on saving lives. 

Also Read: Doctors to District Collectors: Meet the Indians Battling Coronavirus On The Front Lines

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan) 

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