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Howie Severino pens another post about his COVID-19 experience, this time to honor Gab Lazaro, the nurse who attended to him and helped him produce his special documentary for I-Witness.

Howie's tribute titled “My frontliner, Gab” is published on GMA News Online.

According to the Kapuso broadcast journalist, he realized the importance of companionship to boost a COVID-19 patient's morale and mental health that may consequently help in the patient's success over the dreaded new coronavirus disease.

He wrote, “Unlike any other illness, this one imposes a ban on visits by your loved ones. No one you know can even peek inside your door to say hello and ask how you're doing.

“You spend all day and all night lying in bed in a room by yourself worrying about whether you will live or die. Sleep is a struggle.

“That takes a toll on the patient's emotional and mental health.

“After I survived COVID and 11 days in isolation in a hospital, one of my main takeaways is that while heroic health professionals exhaust themselves trying to cure you of this terrifying disease, no one is looking after the patient's mental health. We know that morale and state of mind are large factors in our physical well-being, and could affect our chances of survival.”

Howie has always mentioned how his wife Ipat Luna helped him strengthen his mental fortitude. But since she was not allowed to go to the hospital, she called the services of a private nurse and found Gab.

It was serendipitous that Howie didn't only gain company during his confinement in Gab; he actually found someone who shared the same interests with him which include basketball and documentaries. That's when he realized the opportunity of collaborating with him for a special I-Witness episode.

The Kapuso broadcast journalist turned his hospitalization into something productive. He taught his nurse how to shoot using his mobile phone, the different movements, treatments, and sequences for good footage, and they even interviewed one another about the life of a patient and a frontliner.

Howie said, “This unexpected apprenticeship was a godsend for someone who had just plumbed the depths of despair. It gave me purpose and something to look forward to, a unique collaboration between frontliner and his patient. There were times when I even stopped thinking about my illness, my mind filled with sequences that Gab could shoot.”

He also emphasized, “In the end, his constant companionship and our collaboration cured the overlooked affliction of loneliness that accompanies every case of COVID-19.

“Frontliners are often and rightfully credited with saving lives. But my case shows they can also save your mind and morale just by being there keeping you company; and in one rare instance, collaborating on a creative endeavor that became an I-Witness documentary.”

Howie ended the article giving an update about his nurse who continues to serve in the frontline amid the pandemic.

He said, “I'm safe at home now on my way to full recovery. Gab texted me yesterday to say he's back on the front lines, taking care of another lonely, gravely ill patient.”

Watch the full episode of Howie and Gab's I-Witness documentary “Ako si Patient 2828” here:

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