“I no longer want to be a pediatrician. The gaze of those children stays with you forever”: the pain of doctors treating earthquake survivors in Venezuela

The aftermath of a powerful earthquake in northern Venezuela has left doctors grappling with immense emotional and psychological distress as they treat severely injured children. Dr. X, a pediatrician specializing in emergencies, described the harrowing experience of treating dozens of children crushed by debris for days. Initially, the young patients cried out in pain, but as their conditions worsened, many arrived at the pediatric emergency room unconscious, unidentified, and without any family members.

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The problem is the transfer in chaotic conditions. It's not what one would wish to receive, that is, a patient in an ambulance, with an IV line established during the journey.

"The problem is the transfer in chaotic conditions. It's not what one would wish to receive, that is, a patient in an ambulance, with an IV line established during the journey," the doctor said, his voice breaking with emotion. He recounted the heartbreak of celebrating a child's rescue, only to witness their subsequent death or severe disability, often involving amputations or kidney damage.

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I am very affected because these patients we have celebrated as having been rescued alive end up dying or in very diminished conditions, especially with the issue of amputations or kidney damage.

At 62, Dr. X feels "ashamed" to request anonymity but believes he can "achieve much more by being discreet." He has witnessed significant crises in Venezuela, including the Caracazo in 1989, the Vargas landslide in 1999, and the COVID-19 pandemic, but found the earthquake's chaos unprecedented. "Sometimes I feel like I no longer want to be a pediatrician. The gaze of those children stays with you forever," he confessed, briefly turning away from a video call to weep.

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Sometimes I feel like I no longer want to be a pediatrician. The gaze of those children stays with you forever.

Dr. X shared that each child he treats reminds him of his own grandchildren or children when they were young. "The hardest part is the uncertainty of not knowing what to say when they ask about their parents or knowing they have already passed away but not being able to tell them the truth." Meanwhile, Dr. R, an internist at another Caracas hospital, highlighted the psychological and emotional toll on the elderly, many of whom were left alone without family or support, some suffering from memory loss and unable to identify themselves.

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The hardest part is the uncertainty of not knowing what to say when they ask about their parents or knowing they have already passed away but not being able to tell them the truth.