A pediatric physiotherapist and mother juggles online schooling and therapy with her own angst

English transcript | نسخة عربية

Nationality: Egyptian
Occupation: Pediatric Physiotherapist
Date of interview: 03 July 2020
Language of interview: Arabic

Nadia is a perfectionist. She likes to plan well and control outcomes. This quality probably makes her good at her work, but made the pandemic a nightmare for her in the beginning, increasing her anxiety. Nadia is a pediatric physiotherapist working with children with disabilities. She is originally Syrian, but holds an Egyptian passport and lives with her husband, a doctor, and her two young daughters. At the beginning of the pandemic, Nadia worried about so many things, especially related to her children’s health and the treatment of her young patients at work, as well as the general uncertainty about all aspects of their lives. Many clinics started to lay off their non-Kuwaiti workforce and she feared she and her husband could lose their jobs.

The worst time for Nadia wasn’t the lockdown, but the end of February when they announced that schools and clinics would be closed. How would she manage her girls’ lives, stuck inside a 60 meter apartment? How would she manage to continue her work with her patients and their families? Initially the scenes at the grocery stores, with everyone lining up and hoarding food reminded her of things she had seen during the Egyptian revolution. Those first few weeks, she had panic attacks nightly and couldn’t sleep.

As Nadia realized that her previous plans were dashed, she surrendered to the situation and was able to feel less anxious, focusing on controlling only what she could. She moved furniture so that her girls could do a fitness class daily, and lifted their screen restrictions so they were able to meet up with friends online. In early March, her team designed and implemented an online treatment program for her patients and their parents, so that the children would not lose the gains they had made in their therapy. Once online school began for the girls, she supported them during the day and offered online therapy sessions to her patients after school.

As a physiotherapist working with children, she needs to be psychologically strong to support the child and the family. Surprisingly, the move to online therapy was positive overall. Previously the children worked exclusively with therapists in the clinic, but parents usually neglected their at-home maintenance therapy program. During the pandemic, the parents had no choice but to engage. They had to log on and be with the therapist and child for their sessions to facilitate the process. Parents are reporting feeling closer to their children, understanding them better and feeling more confident to take a role in their treatment. Nadia feels this is an important positive outcome of the pandemic.

As for Nadia’s family, they have coped with the changing situations and have been ok. The clinic supported their staff throughout, which made Nadia feel more connected to her workplace. What has been concerning her is the outpouring of hate speech against expatriate communities that became prevalent on social media after the pandemic started.

“I remember I was standing at the balcony once and saw an expat woman looking in the garbage for food in a country where food is available in abundance and it tore me apart from the inside at the poor people who can’t manage. So if these expats had better living circumstances the virus would not spread rapidly among them. If there were buildings special for them where each two live in one room their life would be better and hence fewer problems would occur. I felt terrible especially for workers who don’t get paid much.”

In the clip above, Nadia reflects on some of the disruptions and positive outcomes of the lockdown on her work.

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