Because of the pandemic, people are taking extra precautions to stay safe. Going out and doing reckless things like speeding or causing trouble is even more intolerable than ever before. Our systems are overloaded!
That’s why when 37-year-old Dr. Sarosh Ashraf Janjua was driving down I-35 in Minnesota about two weeks ago, she got pulled over for speeding by a state trooper. He explained to her that she really should not have been speeding since resources are so limited.
Plus, if she was injured in an accident, she would not be able to help patients.
This story soon took a surprisingly pleasant turn which eventually led to Janjua in tears. She took to her personal Facebook page to share what happened with the rest of the world.
Janjua worked as a locums cardiologist.
“When he saw my Massachusetts driver’s license, he asked me what I was doing all the way out in Minnesota, so I told him I travel here every month for my work as a locums cardiologist,” Janjua wrote.
The trooper continued to tell her that her speeding was irresponsible. Janjua felt appropriately reprimanded and awaited for the ticket she knew she deserved, but then the trooper surprised her and told her that he was going to let her off with a warning.
Janjua thought the trooper was going to hand her license back to her but instead, he gave her something much more valuable.
“As I sputtered to apologize and say thank you, he reached in to hand me what I assumed was my license back. It wasn’t until my hand had closed around what he was giving me that its unexpected bulkiness drew my eyes to it,” Janjua continued.
The trooper gave Janjua five N95 masks that the state originally gave him for extra protection.
When the doctor noticed what she had just been given, her eyes welled up with tears. N95 masks keep doctors and nurses protected when they are dealing with patients who have been infected by the virus but because there has been such an overwhelming amount of ill people, hospitals are running low on resources and N95 masks are becoming harder to get.
Right now, it feels like these masks have just as much value as solid gold. They can save a life.
“I burst into tears. And though it may just have been the cold wind, I think he teared up a little as well, before wishing me well and walking away,” Janjua wrote.
Janjua is one of the thousands of healthcare workers who have feared for their own life. She works long hours and especially because she travels far for work, she can feel more susceptible. If she was to get sick while away from home, it could cause a lot of problems. “I have felt afraid of not having adequate protective equipment, and in my darkest moments, have worried about what would happen if I fell sick far from home,” she added.
“This complete stranger, who owed me nothing and is more on the front lines than I am, shared his precious masks with me, without my even asking,” Janjua wrote. “The veil of civilization may be thin, but not all that lies behind it is savage.”
She concluded the remarkable story with a glimmer of hope. “We are going to be ok,” she wrote.
The actions of this trooper have us thinking that we just might be.
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https://www.facebook.com/sarosh.janjua/posts/10163167858590117
