"COVID was ominously not only drowning people in their own spit but struck in different shades to alter human personality that kept helplessly getting lost in the maze of their own minds. It made the young maniacal, hearing voices and talking to walls in a schizophrenic frenzy. It made the elderly become muted in silence.

The face of helpless madness. Every now and then, the balm of soothing whispers would lull them to slowly break free from this trance.

This strange malady kept fogging up brains behind the faces. Faces of disintegrating seizures. Faces staring into oblivion. My penlight shining down dark pupillary tunnels, in vain, felt futile.

And then there were other faces. Of hospital caregivers, faithfully grooming seemingly lifeless bodies. I would feel enriched when they shared on my rounds, updates from up close, and personal patient care moments."

Ayushi Chugh is a neurologist.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Unmasking the faces of COVID: pages from a neurologist’s diary" (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/02/unmasking-the-faces-of-covid-pages-from-a-neurologists-diary.html) and "The science of compassion." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/10/the-science-of-compassion.html)