“National Health Stories: Tales from the front line”: Interview with Co-Author Dr. Ishani Rao (vegan), Part 1 of 2

As a co-author of “National Health Stories: Tales from the front line,” Dr. Rao brings an authentic and unfiltered perspective, drawing directly from the experiences of NHS frontline workers navigating the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, we present our interview with Dr. Ishani Rao, who begins by speaking about her vegan journey. “My parents are now vegan, my brother’s now vegan, my brother’s girlfriend is vegan, and I think it’s the best choice I’ve ever made.” Dr. Ishani Rao tells us about “National Health Stories” and the driving force behind sharing these accounts from the front lines of the pandemic. “So we were raising for the NHS Urgent Appeal, which was supporting COVID patients and their families, and we donated all of the money from that book to the NHS urgent appeal.” The stories tell the experiences of the two junior doctors thrust into the heart of COVID-19 wards, who spent much of the year 2020 making life-and-death decisions.

The following is an excerpt of Dr. Rao reading her poem “Will you think of us when the clapping stops?” “‘Did you ever take that break?’ My colleagues head, of course, does shake. At 1 a.m. we are wide awake With each other in the hospital.” “I think that the most challenging aspect of collecting and sharing these stories was knowing that the pandemic was completely preventable, and it was because of the way that we were treating animals. I think what was really difficult was knowing that if we don’t change our behaviors, then we’re setting ourselves up for further pandemics.” “A really memorable part of collecting the book was how many people mentioned a sense of community as a thing that they were most disturbed by with the pandemic. It was about how guilty they felt that patients were not able to see their friends and family, and the fact that we were having to comfort and console our patients at their final moments, or during times of illness.” “I would like the general public to know that we’re still trying our best despite a difficult situation, and that I hope that they have some compassion and empathy for people that are really trying to help them as well.”