Delhi doctor is a hero at home and the hospital

Dr. Meenakshi Mourya is a hero on the frontlines of India's fight against COVID-19, and a dedicated mother to her two autistic children at home.

As an anaesthesia specialist at the biggest public hospital in Delhi, Mourya was overwhelmed by the flood of COVID-19 patients at the peak of the pandemic last year, when the Indian capital recorded nearly 8,000 new cases every day.

For almost a month, the loving mother says she did not have time to see her children.

"It was very difficult for me and I was so emotionally bogged down at that time. But I just, the patients, all the time patients were dying in front of me and I just feel the stress transmit on me and I don't want to transmit my stress into my kids, that is why sometimes I called with my husband but I did not see them (my children). I don't want them to see me, because when they see me, they will cry."

The lockdown hit Mourya and her kids especially hard.

With their special education classes cancelled, Mourya's two sons were stuck at home, often sitting at the window, waiting on their mother to return.

But while they still cry whenever their mother leaves for work, Mourya says she is now able to give them the intensive care they need.

"Now I'm a much stronger person, and people, all my friends, colleagues were calling me and still calling me, you are the strongest woman and the strongest friend."

India has the second highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world, and a shortage of healthcare workers.

But in Delhi, the virus is now under far better control, allowing Mourya more time to spend with her kids.