This past May, we delivered some hard news concerningCOVID-19's effect on the staff of TVS in Kursk. Our team had remained healthy at that time, but our lead translator Larisa Kuzmenko's husband became quite ill with COVID. Here is the journey of how she and two TVS co-workers ultimately expressed their COVID experience through a unique video creation.
"Because Sasha is Head of ICU in a large city hospital, I knew from scratch that he would be on the front lines working with corona virus patients directly. Needless to say, I suspected what that would entail. "Larisa's husband Sasha did contract the virus and was quarantined, away from Larisa, who would have taken care of him through his illness. Knowing little about the unpredictable virus, Sasha did not want to take chances with his family and continued to isolate himself. The situation created tremendous stress for the young family. Praise God, Sasha survived, unlike some of his friends and colleagues.
After two subsequent negative tests, he “returned to action.” The hospital was filled to capacity with virus-positive patients–sick, coughing, short of breath, and scared. Physicians succumbed to the virus one after another and those who recovered “filled in the gaps” and worked 24/7. The workload tripled for medical professionals as they were away from their families and forced to navigate between the red zone and sleep. Doctors and patients fought to the death.
Many people in Russia underestimated the seriousness of new virus and neglected mask-wearing and social distancing that reduce the spread. Unhappy with border closures and other restrictions ,altered travel plans created an attitude of insurrections. They ignored the reality. As a result ,hospitalizations increased every day and subsequently more work and less rest for health professionals. "I just hoped and prayed that the physicians' sense of vocation and God's grace would help them overcome the growing mental and physical stress, and pressure.
"In December, Daniel Polukhin, a significant member of the TVS technical team, also began feeling ill and was quickly hospitalized with severe COVID symptoms. “I steadfastly tried to bring the seriousness of the situation home to people,” Larisa commented, “but I often hit a blank wall of incomprehension, skepticism, and denial. So, when Daniel ended up in a hospital bed and started recovering, I thought it would be a good idea to add some images to my words. ”A real video artist, Daniel utilized his craft while amid his recovery. He captured the suffering he experienced and saw inthe Russian hospital on film. TVS Technical Director Ivan Silenin, composed music to support the footage's message. With Larisa's intense words, they created a video that was quickly picked up by media platforms in Russia and subsequently appreciated by thousands!
Today, the battle is still going, and physicians are still working hard. “At this point Sasha keeps working as Head of ICU and is a part of the medical consultative team on COVID treatment in Kursk Region. His working schedule is still pretty busy, but he finds some time to spend with us, which is precious. We praise the Lord for everything He has done and is doing in and through us!“