Season 2 Episode 7 special edition during COVID-19 pandemic
Level of Indonesian and English fluency: Intermediate to Advanced
Indonesian Version
Saya bekerja sebagai Perawat di ICU di salah satu rumah sakit di Amerika. Hampir 25 tahun saya besar dan tinggal di Indonesia, sampai akhirnya saya ada kesempatan pindah ke Amerika 9 tahun lalu. Pertama kali pindah ke Amerika, saya datang dan akhirnya menetap di wilayah Washington DC sampai sekarang.
Orang umum mungkin berpikiran bahwa perjalanan saya pindah ke Amerika adalah lancar dan tanpa kendala, namun kenyataannya tidak demikian. Kendala yang saya hadapi ketika saya pindah pertama kali ke Amerika akan menjadi titik balik dalam kehidupan saya sehingga saya memutuskan menjadi seorang perawat.
Cerita titik balik ini bermula ketika 2 minggu sebelum saya memulai perjalanan saya pindah ke Amerika. Pada saat itu, saya merasa ada yang aneh dengan kesehatan saya. Saya sering merasa capek disertai batuk dan juga demam terkadang. Karena hal inilah saya memutuskan untuk berobat di salah satu rumah sakit di kawasan Jakarta Selatan.
Saya mencoba berobat ke beberapa dokter disana, tapi tak satupun yang bisa memberikan diagnosa yang pasti dengan masalah yang sedang saya hadapi. Rata-rata dari mereka hanya memberikan obat umum yang tidak memerlukan resep dokter.
Karena saya percaya dan menghargai profesi seorang dokter, saya menuruti saran mereka untuk banyak istirahat dan minum obat yang telah mereka berikan karena mereka beranggapan bahwa saya hanya mengalami kelelahan. Pada saat itu, saya tidak perlu dirawat di rumah sakit dan diijinkan untuk pulang.
Sampai ketika tiba waktunya saya harus berangkat ke Amerika dan perjalanan saya pun dimulai. Dua minggu setelah sampai di Amerika, pada suatu pagi di bulan Agustus tahun 2011, saya merasakan ada yang aneh dengan saya.
Pada saat itu, saya merasa tidak bisa berbicara dengan lancar, tubuh saya demam tinggi dan juga ada perasaan nyeri di bagian tangan dan kaki sehingga susah untuk digerakkan. Pada saat itu teman saya kaget dengan keanehan ini dan akhirnya memutuskan untuk menelpon ambulans dan mengirim saya ke rumah sakit.
Ketika sampai di rumah sakit, saya langsung dibawa ke Unit Gawat Darurat dan setelah itu saya tidak sadarkan diri. Menurut keterangan dari rumah sakit, saya tidak sadarkan diri dan didiagnosa dengan Tuberkulosis dengan gejala dan hasil tes yang telah saya alami.
Saya tidak sadarkan diri selama satu minggu dan memerlukan perawatan di ICU. Penyakit TB yang saya derita pada saat itu sudah menjalar dan advance karena keterlambatan tindakan dari dokter di Indonesia. Hal ini menyebabkan bakteri TB menyebar ke otak dan menyebabkan kejang yang sangat berbahaya bagi kelangsungan hidup saya, dan bisa menyebabkan cacat permanen.
Para dokter dan tim kesehatan lain di rumah sakit bekerja dengan keras untuk mengobati penyakit TB saya dan pengobatan ini memakan waktu yang tidak singkat, bahkan bisa membutuhkan waktu beberapa bulan untuk kasus saya ini. Proses pengobatan yang saya alami ini sangat sulit dan juga rumit, mengingat berbagai macam tes mulai dari X-Ray, MRI, CT Scan sampai juga harus menjalani tes untuk memonitor kejang dengan cara menempelkan elektroda di kepala secara kontinyu. Hal ini terjadi dikarenakan penyakit TB saya sudah menyebar.
Akhirnya setelah kurang lebih hampir 3 bulan dirawat di RS, saya akhirnya diperbolehkan pulang. Selama dirawat di rumah sakit saya melihat betapa bagus dan profesional para pekerja di rumah sakit mulai dari petugas kebersihan, asisten perawat, perawat dan juga dokter yang telah merawat saya.
Saya salut dengan kinerja mereka yang dengan terbukti telah menyelamatkan dan mengobati saya, sehingga saya merasa seperti lahir di dunia yang baru. Hari yang ditunggu akhirnya datang, setelah hampir tiga bulan saya tidak melihat dan merasakan udara luar, beberapa minggu sebelum hari ulang tahun saya, akhirnya saya diijinkan pulang tetapi masih diharuskan menjalani pengobatan untuk TB dari rumah selama 6 bulan lagi.
Hal ini dikarenakan kebijakan dari Departemen Kesehatan Amerika khususnya wilayah Washington DC yang memberlakukan kebijakan untuk pengobatan penyakit TB yang membutuhkan waktu total 9 bulan untuk bisa dinyatakan pasien bebas dari TB. Selama proses pengobatan ini, seorang perawat dari kantor Departemen Kesehatan akan datang berkunjung ke rumah saya setiap hari dari waktu yang ditentukan, mereka akan memberikan obat untuk TB dan memastikan bagaimana saya mengkonsumsinya.
Selain itu pihak Departemen Kesehatan juga berkoordinasi dengan pihak imigrasi Amerika Serikat dengan melaporkan masalah ini dan mereka akan memberlakukan pelarangan travel ke luar negeri sampai saya selesai dengan pengobatan TB ini mengingat penyakit TB bukan epidemik di Amerika.
Pengalaman mengerikan yang saya alami ini sungguh telah membuka lebar mata dan pikiran saya, bagaimana mulia dan profesional seorang perawat di rumah sakit yang telah melayani dan membantu saya dari awalnya sakit parah, apalagi di awal ketika saya dirawat di ICU.
Tim dokter dari ICU sempat berbicara kepada keluarga saya bahwa kasus saya ini sangat langka dan kemungkinan untuk sembuh hanya 50%. Tapi ternyata dengan kegigihan mereka, saya bisa terselamatkan. Hal inilah yang telah membuka pikiran saya dengan melihat sendiri bagaimana dengan sabarnya seorang perawat dan juga tim kesehatan lain menjalankan pekerjaannya.
Merawat pasien TB seperti saya, mengharuskan mereka untuk keluar masuk ruang isolasi dengan memakai alat perlindungan diri (APD) khususnya masker N95 yang sangat tidak nyaman, tetapi mereka sama sekali tidak tampak merasa terbebani, demi kesembuhan sang pasien.
Pada akhirnya hal inilah yang memotivasi saya bermimpi untuk bisa menjadi seorang perawat yang juga akan bisa membantu orang lain untuk bisa sembuh dari sakitnya. Beberapa bulan setelah selesai dengan pengobatan TB saya, saya mendaftar ke salah satu universitas di Amerika dan mengambil jurusan perawat. Setelah kurang lebih 3 tahun dengan telah melewati suka dan duka selama di sekolah, akhirnya saya lulus universitas dan lulus disumpah menjadi seorang perawat di Amerika sampai sekarang.
Menjadi perawat, merupakan kesempatan bagi saya untuk dapat meneruskan kebaikan dari perawat yang sudah saya terima.
English Version (8:40)
Adam has been working as a Registered Nurse (RN) in an ICU of one of the hospitals in America. For almost 25 years he grew up and lived in Indonesia, until an opportunity came 9 years ago to move to America. The first time he arrived in America, he decided to live in Washington DC, where he is still currently living.
People might think that his journey to move to America was smooth with no problems, however that was not the reality. The first problem he faced when he first moved, became the turning point in his life that made him decide to become a nurse.
This turning point story started 2 weeks before Adam was about to move to America. At that time, he felt that he was not completely well. He felt tired, was coughing and had fevers that came and went. Because of this, he decided to seek medical attention at one of the hospitals in South Jakarta.
He went to see a few doctors there but not one gave a satisfactory diagnosis about the illness that he was experiencing. Most of them prescribed him over-the-counter medication only.
Because he trusted and respected the doctor’s profession, he followed their advice to get much rest and take the medicine they prescribed because they all thought that he was just experiencing exhaustion. He was not advised to be admitted to the hospital and was allowed to go home.
Came the time that Adam had to go to America and his journey started. Two weeks after arriving, one morning in August 2011, he felt something strange with himself.
He could not speak clearly, he was experiencing high fever and there were pains in his arms and legs that made him difficult to move. At that time, his partner was worried with these symptoms and at the end he decided to call an ambulance and sent Adam to the hospital.
Once Adam arrived at the hospital, he was directly taken to the Emergency Room and then he lost consciousness. The hospital later informed him that he was unconscious and was diagnosed with Tuberculosis, based on the symptoms and the test results that were done.
Adam was unconscious for a week and required care in the ICU. His Tuberculosis was at an advanced stage because it was treated late by the doctors from Indonesia. This caused the TB bacteria to spread to the brain and caused seizures which were very life-threatening and could cause permanent damage.
The doctors and other medical workers at the hospital worked hard to cure Adam’s TB and the treatment required a long period of time, even months in his case. The treatments he underwent were complicated and required many different tests, from X rays, MRIs, CT scans and tests to monitor the seizures by placing electrodes on his head continuously. This happened as the TB had already spread.
Finally, after almost 3 months being treated in the hospital, Adam was allowed to go home. While in the hospital, he saw how well and professional the medical staff there, from the cleaners, nurse assistants, nurses and doctors, all took care of him.
He admired their work ethics which were proven to cure and save his life. Then the awaited day finally came, after almost 3 months not being able to be outside and feel the fresh air of the outdoors, he was allowed to go home but was still required to continue his TB treatment from home for the next 6 months.
The Health Department of the United States, especially for the Washington DC area, implements a policy that requires a patient to undergo 9 months of treatment for Tuberculosis before the patient can be declared as TB-free. During this treatment period, a nurse from the Health Department office in Washington DC would come and visit Adam’s house every day at a specified time to administer the TB medication to Adam and to ensure that he took them.
Besides that, the Health Department also coordinated and reported this matter to the US Immigration office and they issued an overseas travel ban for Adam until he had finished his TB medication process; considering that TB is not an epidemic in America.
Adam’s scary experience really opened his eyes and mind to the work of nurses, how noble and professional the nurses were at the hospital who had helped and taken care of him from the beginning of his critical illness since he was first taken into the ICU.
The team of doctors from the ICU had informed his family that Adam’s case was quite rare and the chances of recovery were only about 50%. However, thanks to the hard work of the medical team there, Adam’s life could be saved. This had been what opened his mind by experiencing himself how nurses diligently and patiently do their jobs, taking care of their patients.
Taking care of a TB patient such as himself, requires the medical staff to go in and out of the isolation room with their personal protective equipment, especially the N95 mask which is very uncomfortable to be used but they never appeared to be bothered by it; all for the recovery of the patient.
At the end, this was what motivated Adam to pursue his dream to become a nurse and work to help people to recover from their illnesses. A few months after he was finished with his TB treatment, he enrolled in one of the universities in America and majored in nursing. After more or less 3 years, going through the ups and downs of university life, he finally graduated and was sworn in as a nurse, working in America up till now.
Becoming a nurse has given Adam the chance to pay forward the kindness that he had received from the nurses who took care of him previously.
This is a story from Antonius Conners, who in short is called Adam. He is originally from Blitar, East Java, Indonesia. He currently resides in Washington, DC and works as an ICU nurse at the George Washington University Hospital.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the medical workers out there who willingly gave their time, expertise, strength and sacrifices to support the fight against Covid19. Special shout out to Adam and his fellow colleagues at his hospital for their bravery and hard work. Thank you and may we all come out of this pandemic as better people.
VOCABULARIES
Kendala: milestone, hindrance
RS/Rumah Sakit: hospital
Wilayah: region
Keanehan: rarity
Kinerja: performance
Indonesians tend to include everyday English words when they speak. Some English words are adopted to become Indonesian common words. Sometimes the spelling changes to be an Indonesian spelling, or not.
Indonesian language used here is in the daily-conversation format, that has influences from the local culture and custom. Should you have questions on the more formal version, please consult with your guru Bahasa Indonesia.