Humans of Safe Care, Saving Lives

This is the fifth in a series of profiles of the dedicated individuals behind the Safe Care, Saving Lives project. Safe Care, Saving Lives is a quality improvement project to improve neonatal care in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. See the previous post in the series.

“The story of how and why I became a nurse starts with pain. I lost my mother when I was in third grade. I don’t even know the reason for her death. I lost my father seven years later because of heat stroke. I felt all alone.

If only my parents had access to good healthcare, they would be by my side today.

My tenth grade teacher had a profound effect on me. This teacher motivated me to pursue nursing as a career. I completed my general nursing and midwifery course in Hyderabad. Putting in hours of study, I persevered and got the best student award in nursing school. I worked in a pharmacy retail firm for a while and was given the best nurse award in recognition of my dedication to my work.

I have been working in the neonatal intensive care unit at Mamatha Medical College for the past five years. Life continues to be full of challenges. I stay with my sister and work part time at other places to make ends meet. What keeps me motivated through every single day is the satisfaction I get from saving lives of babies. I love the work that I do. That is the reason I have not taken a single day off from work. I feel happy that the doctors in my unit rely on me to deliver care.

I do not want anyone else to go through the pain of losing parents or children, the pain that I had to go through. I will never leave any opportunity that helps me to save another life.”