“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the season of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”  

This quote, courtesy of Charles Dickens, describes vividly and candidly, the recent experience of a young, Indigenous first-time mum, who was forced to labour and birth in relatively abject circumstances due to the restrictions of our current pandemic.  

*Shani had probably never read A Tale of Two Cities, and even if she had, the erudite message expressed above, replete with oxymorons, would hardly have minimised the trauma and disappointment of her first confinement. 

We are regularly regaled by media announcements of frightening staff shortages and exhaustion in our urban hospitals due to illness, isolation and close contact reporting.