Deidre Fanene
Registered transgender nurse and midwife, Tiara Tuulua, will never forget dealing with pregnant women during the measles outbreak
The 33 year old who had been a registered nurse since 2009 added the measles epidemic as a second lifetime experience, of a natural disaster she was directly involved with.
” I had just become a registered nurse and was sent to Lalomanu when the tsunami struck to attend to the victims,” she recalled the 20o9 tsunami on the south west coast of Upolu.
“When I went there I was very afraid because I wasn’t sure if my knowledge and skills to do the job or even deal with disasters were enough.
“However, being there and working during the emergency was how I was able to gain the experience of working during a disaster as well as an epidemic.
“The work experience during the measles cannot be compared to the tsunami except it was very sad seeing our own people dying in front of our eyes.
“I myself had a nephew who died from measles and it was difficult on the emotions seeing families mourn and grieve.”
Tuulua deliberately kept her emotions in check and stayed strong as demanded by her professional calling during the challenging environment of the epidemic.
She found the care of pregnant mothers especially the ones who had been tested positive for measles, very difficult to forget.
All who tested positive were kept isolated in one area to be cared for as well as for their newborn babies to be delivered.
“The process was normal for us as midwives who do that everyday, our only worry at the time was because it was an airborne disease and we were prone to infection.
” But thankfully God was always there and we were serving our people with so much love and a lot of respect.”