The cadet from Manatí, Bárbara Ricardo Saavedra, never imagined that, at the age of 20, she would go through an experience like the one that led her to one of the main hospitals in Havana.

Manatí, Las Tunas - As a student of Military Medicine at the University of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), she volunteered to help in a care center where many people reported as positive to COVID-19 was hospitalized.

How were your links to military life established?

It was when I was studying at the Junior High School, here in my municipality. One day they came to recruit for the Camilo Cienfuegos military school in the province. They talked about their profile, their characteristics, their perspectives... What they said interested me and I joined the process. At the end of the ninth grade, two places were granted to study at the Camilo Cienfuegos Pre-University School. One was mine.

What were your impressions when you arrived at that center?

I loved the school. Its programs are similar to those of civilian life. Nevertheless, we also received military subjects. I finished the twelfth with good results, which encouraged me to apply for one of the nine places that came to the school to study Military Medicine in Havana. To my satisfaction, I was assigned one, as I have always admired this specialty.

An extraordinary change for you, I'm sure. Was it?

Yes, of course. In that initial stage, teaching includes career content and basic knowledge to treat war-wounded, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation and how to do compressions and bandages. New technologies are used a lot in the conferences and a large part of the literature is digital. We also have Wifi zones to connect.

Do the practical classes take place in real contexts?

We are evaluated in a small maneuver, with a camp equipped with tents and equipment, where we ourselves are the injured and the specialists. We improvise stretchers, make different types of bandages, tourniquets, compressions... They also teach us how to deal with natural disasters and how to choose the best place to set up a hospital.

Let's talk about the COVID-19 and your experience in its combat...

It was decided that the students of Military Medicine would take part in the fight against the pandemic at the Doctor Luis Díaz Soto Central Military Hospital, helping their workers in different tasks. We were about 100 cadets from first to third grade. In the hospital institution, we played different roles such as service workers, laundry workers, cleaning assistants, food delivery workers, and assistants to the sick...

Did they have any idea of the danger they were going to face there?

We were warned that we would be working for 14 days in a center where people positive for the virus were admitted. Three cadets were placed in each room. We started at 7:00 am when a bus would pick us up at the village where we were staying. We stayed there until sunset and rested the next day. That day we spent sleeping.

Did everyone in the group face the same risks?

The risk was common, but those who were most exposed were those who worked in the so-called red zone, inside the rooms of the sick. While the rest of the group distributed food, cleaned, organized and washed, the student who cared for these patients had to give them food, provide them with water when they were thirsty and, if necessary, even help them bathe. The only thing they did not do was to administer the medicines. These tasks were rotated.

And what safety measures did you take for this risk?

Only sterile hospital clothing is worn there. The first day we put on everything double; shirts, pants, boots, gloves, mask... A doctor told us not to exaggerate, because, if we continued like this, we would cause the laundry to collapse. The people in the red zone were also protected with glasses, a mask, and protective nylon. When they left the room, they would take off their clothes and put them back on.

How do you evaluate this experience in your professional training?

As something of great importance. It strengthened our sense of humanism and solidarity with people who suffer from a disease. In our rotations through the red zones, we even learned to treat them and understand their moods, according to the stage of their suffering. The doctors helped us with this. Professionally, we learned a lot, especially the work of the Nurses.

Were you there when any of the patients were discharged?

I remember a girl who tested positive twice for CRP. On the eve of the third test, she was very nervous. When she learned that this time it was negative, her joy was so great that she wanted to hug the doctor who gave her the news. When she left, she burst into tears. In the wards, there is a notebook where the patients write something when they leave. These are highly sensitive texts.

How was the process of leaving the hospital organized?

When the task was completed, we were taken to a villa for a 14-day quarantine. Then we spent another 14 days in the school, where we were subjected to daily searches. When they found out that we were healthy, they took us to the railway terminal in Havana, where we boarded a military train. When we arrived in Las Tunas, there were also searches on the platform and even in the hall. Then by bus to the municipalities. Now I am in mine, with my family.

How will your military career continue in the academic order?

In September we will catch up, and in January 2021 we will start the fourth year. It will be a reunion with my fellow students and with my professors at this University with which I already have a great sense of belonging.