UAE: Covid survivor spearheads Al Ain's battle against pandemic

Abu Dhabi - Brush with contagion makes the expat doctor even more empathetic to patients

A Hungarian doctor has been spearheading the fight against Covid-19 in Al Ain, the second-largest city in the Abu Dhabi emirate, after recovering from the viral infection.

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Though Dr David Simon, 48, has been working with infectious diseases for over 25 years, he himself had a harrowing experience after contracting SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19.

Dr Simon, who has been working as a critical care consultant and the head of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Mediclinic Al Ain Hospital since 2015, is one of the thousands of professionals, whose contributions have been recognised and hailed by the Frontline Heroes Office for taking exceptional measures to protect people’s lives during the pandemic.

He has been taken aback by the virulent infection, despite his extensive experience.

“This is unprecedented. When Covid-19 swept across the world early last year, it was a biological catastrophe. In the medical profession, we could only react to a contagion, as we don’t have a specific drug or other necessary procedures,” he said.

However, he rapidly developed and fine-tuned a strategy for treating the increasing number of patients admitted to the ICU and shared his experience with his peers around the world. He lavished praise on the Department of Health, (DoH), Abu Dhabi, for its continuing guidance and support.

Working round the clock to save critical patients

In the early stages of the pandemic, Al Ain’s Covid-19 patients were treated at government hospitals. But as the viral outbreak spread, medical teams, including Dr Simon's, were asked to provide support.

In April 2020, he expanded his ICU unit and added 12 beds. All his staff was entrusted with Covid-19 critical care.

“We’re working around the clock. All hands were on the deck to treat critically-ill patients,” he said.

“We’re able to accurately assess the patient flow. However, they belonged to all age groups and nationalities and each patient’s affliction was different from the other. For instance, women, aged above 90, would win over the Covid-19 challenge, while men in their 30s were on the verge of death. I vividly recall a male patient, who was on a ventilator for three months with a tracheostomy, and fortunately pulled through in the end. Of course, I was exhausted, but the patients’ indomitable will to survive against all odds kept me going,” he added.

Doctor’s date with contagion

Last May, Dr Simon’s life turned on its head after he contracted SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19.

“It was a typical symptom of raging Covid-19: The coronavirus had begun destroying a part of my lung tissue and I was feverish and exhausted,” he said.