By Garwen McLuckie, Sky News Cameraman
Before filming inside the high-risk zone, we were told that all or equipment would have to be either disinfected or incinerated.
I had prepared hard - bringing tailor-made plastic sealed containers for the small DSLR camera I would be using and rigging up microphones for Sky News Correspondent Alex Crawford to carry under her clothing, or in a waterproof "dry sack".
In the end, none of them worked, but we were saved by our DSLR camera mike, which provided astonishing sound quality despite being smothered in plastic.
On arrival at the unit, we were first taken to a wooden shed so we could change into medical scrubs.
I felt confident, even excited about the challenge ahead as we moved to a small room be prepped for the high-risk area.
Each person was assigned a nurse to help us dress and to make sure we were properly covered.
First we had to put on large plastic socks which went up to our calves and white plastic boots.
Then there was a hairnet, followed by a plastic PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) onesie which zipped right up to my neck and had a double sticky seal down the zip.
The first of three latex gloves went on and were sealed on to the onesie by duct tape round my wrist.
The onesie had its own hood which I pulled over my head, followed by a surgical mask over my mouth and nose.
I was then given another separate hood which went over my head and shoulders, covering my forehead, chin and neck. By this stage I was really feeling the heat and the humidity.
A huge yellow plastic apron was draped over me before my face was finally sealed by goggles. Not even a millimetre of my skin was exposed under these three layers of protection.
Almost immediately I was struggling with the heat and an extreme claustrophobic sensation which I had never experienced before - I wondered how long I would last.
Within a very short time, perspiration was filling my face mask, covering my nose and mouth and I could feel the bubbling of my own sweat as I kept trying to suck in air.
There didn't seem to be much of it.
At one stage while Alex was talking to one of the ebola victims I had to close my eyes whilst filming to try to calm myself.
I kept thinking: "I can't breathe, I can't breathe."
After filming for an hour, it took a painstaking 10 to 15 minutes to strip off each layer and be carefully disinfected each time.
The doctor could see I was anxious to get everything off but it was essential to observe all the health protocols.
My upbringing means I always give way to women, letting them through doors first and so on.
But in this case I think I would have rugby-tackled Alex to the ground if she hadn't let me go through the disrobing procedure before her.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Face-To-Face With The Dying In An Ebola Centre
Dengan url
http://stopinarkoba.blogspot.com/2014/10/face-to-face-with-dying-in-ebola-centre.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Face-To-Face With The Dying In An Ebola Centre
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Face-To-Face With The Dying In An Ebola Centre
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar