For a young doctor couple on duty at the Covid-19 centre of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), the celebration of their second wedding anniversary on April 16 meant stealing a few moments from a gruelling schedule and clicking a dualfie.
Dr Nishant Pathak, 31, who spent the special day with his wife Dr Ritika, 29, treating novel coronavirus-positive patients, uploaded the picture on Twitter on Thursday with the message “Under the leadership of respected CM shri @HemantSorenJMM ji & health minister shri @BannaGupta76 ji, I Dr Nishant & Dr Ritika treating corona patients @RIMS, today is our marriage anniversary too.”
In the picture, the couple are seen in their personal protective gear.
Another tweet a few hours later mentions how treating patients was the couple’s goal in life.
“We stay at work for you, you stay at home for us,” Nishant wrote.
Nishant and Ritika are final-year students of RIMS.
A screen grab of the photo of the doctor couple as posted by Dr Ritika on her Twitter
While Nishant is pursuing his MD in paediatrics after completing his MBBS from Grant Medical College in Mumbai, Ritika is doing her MD in gynaecology after her MBBS from the same Mumbai institution.
They were on duty at the RIMS Covid-19 centre from April 15-22 and are currently under 14-day quarantine at a city hotel.
Contacted on Thursday, Nishant said: “We celebrated our anniversary on April 16 treating corona patients. We posted the picture today.”
Asked to share his experience, Nishant said it was a unique one.
“There was no cake or friends. We were with three colleagues and four nurses. The smile on the faces of our patients was our gift. We hope we win this battle against the coronavirus. That will be the real anniversary gift for us,” Nishant, who lives in Karamtoli, said.
Junior doctors of RIMS are playing a vital role in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.
On Wednesday, the first group of five doctors accompanied by four nurses returned to RIMS after completing their 14-day quarantine following seven days of duty. They were welcomed to the campus with a shower of petals.