Conquer Quarantine

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I tried to look for the source of this post and can't find the original one. So if this is yours, THANK YOU. It's worth the read.

This is reportedly the message of the dean of a leading medical school in Metro Manila to his students . You will rarely encounter a 30-second read that will make your eyes well up as fast as this medical call to arms : Jomar Hilario

“The residents and fellows who are now in the frontline may soon be exhausted, if not consumed. We are now preparing the senior citizen consultants such as those in the faculty even those with co-morbidities, to stand as the second line of defense. When they too are consumed, we will have no choice but to field our uninitiated interns and medical students to stand as the third and perhaps the last line of defense of humanity against this scourge. We must quickly prepare them.”

So this is how men and women are sent to war. The draft comes in terse prose. What adds to the pain is that the enemy to be vanquished allows no hugs or tearful goodbyes, and for those already in the frontlines without retreat only words of hope exchanged behind phone screens and sealed windows.

All of them are heroes , but when this is over, a few of them , having given their “last full measure of devotion " to humanity, will not be there to hear our thanks – nor the peal of wedding bells, or their child’s first cry, or the sob of a daughter being walked to the altar.

And we the living will say – never was so much owed by so many to so few.

To those who are not sworn to fight in the frontlines, please stay home so you can save the lives of those who are.”

---For my Jomar Hilario and Jomar Hilario Virtual Careers members - you can make this into a video, a poster post and make it go viral. Jomar Hilario