Those first few waves of Covid were a truly terrible time. I remember volunteering in a hospital during that first wave, the hospital located in a major metropolitan city that, at the time, had the highest concentration of Covid patients in the world. Death surrounded us constantly. People dropped like flies, left and right.

I wasn't exposed to the very worst of it, but seeing the overcrowded beds strewn everywhere, with no sense of organization, just masses of people everywhere - practically laying on their deathbeds - was unforgettable. I was wearing a "bunny suit" as a measure of protection. Truly surreal in a sense.

Later on, I worked in that same hospital during subsequent waves of Covid. Firsthand, I called a significant number of deaths, although I attributed only one directly to Covid over the course of 4 years (others have been indirect).

My behavior has certainly changed since those days. I became crazy about how I clean myself when coming from the hospital. It drives me and my family crazy sometimes. I don't know if I'll ever kick the habit completely.

Fortune came my way in that I didn't lose the people closest to me (although we had a tremendous scare with my grandparents during the second wave). But I was exposed to far more death than anyone should have been exposed. I still am exposed to death these days, and while I have learned to handle it better, it is still never easy.

The only thing that we can do is carry the memories of those who have left us behind, and use the lessons we learned from them in order to carry on in the world. They would have passed away at some point regardless, whether from Covid or some other cause. Death is one of the few guarantees we have in life - the only question remains how and when it happens.

The pain of your losses will stick around with you forever. There is no question about this. However, if you can see the lives of those who were lost in a positive light, and extract the good that you can from the time you had with them... I think that would be a wonderful way to honor those lives. They would certainly appreciate that.