Rinsho No Toride (Shogakukan Bunko)

[Machine Translation] If you think you are not the only one in pain, you will have the strength to stay on your feet. Kanji Shikishima is an internist at Shinanosan Hospital, a designated medical institution for infectious diseases in Nagano Prefecture. Since the end of 2020, the number of people infected with coronas had been increasing rapidly, and the strength of the medical staff had reached its limit. People say that medical care is on the verge of collapse, but my impression on the ground is that medical care has been destroyed. Beds continue to be full, and general medical care is also being hampered. The battle against the unknown virus has been a tense one. Corona destroys not only the lungs, but also the human heart. Even so, the doctors at Shinanosan Hospital did not run away. A story of courage written by a doctor in active service.

「自分だけが辛いのではないと思えば、踏みとどまる力が生まれる」。敷島寛治は長野県の感染症指定医療機関、信濃山病院に勤務する内科医である。令和二年の年末からコロナ感染者が急増し、医療従事者の体力は限界を超えていた。“医療崩壊”寸前と言われるが、現場の印象は“医療壊滅”だ。ベッドの満床が続き、一般診療にも支障が出ている。未知のウイルスとの闘いは緊張の連続だった。コロナは肺だけでなく、人の心も壊す。それでも信濃山病院の医師達は、逃げ出さなかった。「あんな恐ろしい世界の中でも、我々は孤独ではなかった―」現役医師が綴る、勇気の物語。