Meet the modern day Florence Nightingale

On the day of the deluge—December 2 — the 125 bed hospital had 40 in-patients, some of them very old and critical. The water rose in the entire area and the ground floor was submerged soon under seven feet of water. The sewers were flooded. Power went off. Mobile connectivity was gone.

Caring and feeding the sick became a challenge. Resident matron nurse Laly Roy, other nurses Revathy, Usha, Laila and electrician Krishnan rose to the occasion. On day one, a neighbour prepared huge quantity of gruel and three men waded through neck deep water, carrying the food on their heads, while Krishnan and the neighbour helped them navigate. “Ït was tough, but we just kept going, doing one job at a time,” says Krishnan, who does not remember how many times he trudged through the water.

Laly had one sack of rice left in the store and she prepared food for the patients. Meanwhile secretary Kannan ensured that all the patients were shifted to the first floor to relative safety while they tried to find vehicles to transport them. “We used the laundry lorry to transport some of them,” says a committee member. Doctors were on call but no out-patients consultancy was available. The PHC had shut its gates to patients for the first time ever.

They were finally left with two very old ladies who were in a critical condition. Laly took them in an auto to their homes, since by then the entire city was seeking transport of some form and not finding it. One of the families was grateful to take back their relative, but the other, 83-year old Susheela, had no one. Her neighbours informed that the old lady lived alone and with no one wanting to assume responsibility. “I brought her back to the hospital. Then I went out again in another auto, paying Rs 800, to Ashok Nagar police station to seek their help to transport our patient,” recalls Laly. “When I approached R3 police station, the cops told me they cannot take charge of a patient since they did not have medical facilities and I had to return” recalls Roy.

“By December 4, we were down to candles and collected rain water. I simply sat with Susheela and she passed away that night,” says Roy, taking a deep breath. After she passed away, Laly made the long journey back to R3 police station. “The police were very helpful and sensitive. They sent a female cop to complete the formalities. Now, I had to shift Susheela to the Royapettah GH mortuary,” she says.

At the mortuary, there was a long queue. No mortuary vans were available. Ambulances were in short supply. Laly was asked to try her luck with private vans. “Krishnan found one—which was not in a running condition. But the driver said if we pushed it for a bit, it would fire up. So all of us did just that,” she recalls. They reached the PHC still pushing the vehicle. Laly then prepared Susheela for her final journey. “I have been a nurse for 32 years and seen a lot, but what we went through from December 1 to 6 can’t be explained in words,” she says.