S01 - E07 - Coronavirus Part 2 - Amina

In this episode, I am joined by the lovely Amina who is a radiologic technologist working hard to fight the coronavirus in Iran. We discuss her involvement in fighting the virus and we also explain some key coronavirus vocabulary.

S01 - E07 - Coronavirus Part 2 - Amina

Full intermediate level ESL podcast transcript

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Rich: Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to another episode of the Love to Learn English podcast. My name is Rich and today I'm joined by my lovely guest, Amina. Amina is from Iran and she's currently working as a radiologic technologist. She's working to help fight the Coronavirus, something which I'm very proud of her for doing. In today's episode, we are going to discuss her involvement and at the end, we're also going to cover some key vocabulary items for the Coronavirus.

Amina without her COVID equipment.

Rich: Hey, Amina, how are you? 

Amina: Hey Richard, how are you? I'm fine. 

Rich: Very good too. Thank you so much for agreeing to do this. It's really great to have someone on the show that is so knowledgeable about this subject, so thank you.

Amina: Thank you! Was my pleasure. 

Rich: Great. So first of all, please just tell me what it is that you do for a job. 

Amina: Okay. I...uh...for the time being, I'm working at Masih daneshvari hospital that has recently become one of the biggest centers at taking care of patients with confirmed CoVid-19 infections. And we have almost five wards dedicated….dedicated exclusively to patients with suspected infection.

Rich: And you're working as a radiologic technologist, is that correct? 

Amina: Yeah, right, yes, that's right. 

Rich: And what is that exactly? 

Amina: A radiologic technologist is someone who works under the supervision of a physician… physician called a radiologist and helps, uh, them with specific tasks. Um...actually a radiology technologist is supposed to complete a wide variety of tasks every day. For example, setting up and operating CT MRI or x-ray machines. Plus, they are required to gather high-quality images and data. In fact, they are trained to recognize a clear, accurate image versus one that is not. And besides, they should help patients, uh, prepare for the procedure for instance. They make sure that patients remove all of their jewelry and also warn patients about potential risks and dangers to their health. And they must work to protect patients, um, from any unnecessary risks to their health. They're providing a lead sheet when necessary and taking any other appropriate measures. 

Rich: What did you say they provide? They provide them with…?

Amina: Lead sheets. 

Rich: What is that? Sorry. 

Amina: For example, um, is a layer that is covered by the lead that, um...

Rich: Oh lead.. lead...do you mean lead?

Amina: Oh it is lead..?

Rich: Yeah...the spelling... 

Amina: Sorry...

Rich: This is a very…so let me just explain cause this is quite an interesting and common mistake. So, you have the verb to lead, to lead…

Amina: Mhmmm

Rich:...which means to, for other people to follow you. For example…

Amina: Mhmmm

Rich:….like a...a leader. But we also have the material lead. Lead. 

Amina: Uhuh… lead is a material. 

Rich: So, and lead is the type of heavy metal. It's very dense. Its atomic number I think is 82 for anyone who's into science here. 

( The picture above is of some lead) 

Amina: Chemistry. 

Rich: Chemistry. 

Amina: Yes…

Rich: So that's the, but the spelling is the same. So, the confusion happens because of this. But the vowel sound is different. So, once again, the metal is lead and the verb is to lead...to lead. 

Amina: Okay…

Rich: How does radiation work.

Amina: Actually, x-rays are a form of ionizing radiation that can pass through solid objects, including human tissues, and penetrate different objects more or less according to their density. And to obtain an x-ray image of a part of the body...a patient is positioned, so the part of the body being x-rayed is between the source of the x-ray and an x-ray detector.

And as the x-ray passes through the body, images appear in shades of black and white depending on the type of tissue the x-ray passes through. For example, the calcium in your bones makes them denser, so they absorb more radiation and if you’re white on x-rays, x-ray films, uh, that's...that bone is broken. The fracture will appear as a dark area within the lighter bone on an x-ray film. 

Rich: Okay. So, the...so yeah, the, you have different colors depending on the density of the material that the x-ray passes through, is that correct? 

Amina: Exactly. Exactly. 

Rich: Very interesting. What are the possible side effects of radiation treatment and what can go wrong? 

Amina: Radiation does have some risks to consider, but it is also important to remember that x-rays can help detect disease or injury at early stages so the ailment can be treated appropriately. Sometimes x-ray testing can be lifesaving. The risk from x-rays comes from the radiation they produce, which can harm living tissues and distress is relatively small, but it increases with cumulative exposure. That is the more you are exposed to radiation over your lifetime, the higher your risk of harm from the radiation. And there is a slight increased risk of developing cancer later in life after x-ray exposure. And besides, um, x-rays have been linked to cataracts in the eyes and the skin burns, but it's only at extremely high levels of radiation. Although, um, contrast agents are used, there might already be side effects like vomiting, stomach cramps, or allergic reactions like skin redness or fast heartbeat and the like. 

Rich: Okay. Um, I just want to talk about two words you used there as well, very quickly for the listeners. 

Amina: Okay…

Rich: So, you used the word accumulative. Accumulative means to gather together or acquire an increasing number or quantity of something. 

Amina: Yes…

Rich: So, accumulative means that if in this sense means that if you are having multiple x-rays then the risks can be higher. 

Amina: Yeah...yes. 

Rich: That's what you mean, right. So, um, okay. And then the second word that you used here that I would quickly like to discuss was cataract. So, being in the medical profession, I guess you know what a cataract is, but for our listeners, they might not be so sure. So, what is an eye cataract?

(Above is a picture of an eye cataract) 

Amina: Okay, a medical condition that causes the lens of your eye to become wide so that you slowly lose your site.

Rich: I don't want that. No, thank you. That does not sound good.  Okay. I hope you don't give people these.

Amina: No we don’t, I just said that it's only at extremely high levels of exposure of radiation. 

Rich: Okay...Okay. Please not...not for me. I don't want this. Okay. So, um, I want to talk about your involvement with the Coronavirus then, so how are you using this technology to combat the Coronavirus? 

(Above is a picture of Amina after working a long shift using a protective mask. The masks are not very comfortable.) 

Amina: Um, actually x-rays and especially CT scans plays a crucial role in detecting patients infected with CoVid-19 at early stages, and that's the point the sooner a person becomes aware of their disease. The less people he or she will transmit the virus to. And x-rays reveal the horrible effect, the damage the coronavirus does to the lungs. It shows how the virus fills the lungs with sticky mucus that makes it hard to breathe as there is little space remaining for fresh air to enter. 

Rich: Yes. And just to clarify one of those words here, mucus. So, mucus is…

Amina: A layer...  that...a cover is thick liquid used parts of your body such as your nose. 

Rich:  As your nose...Yes. Another word for this that's not so nice in English might be snot or even buggies. Right. So, those are the words that maybe kids would use to describe this, but technically it's called mucus. The other word you used here to describe the mucus was sticky.

Sticky is an adjective and sticky means that things will stick to it. 

Amina: Yes…

Rich: So, an example of this would be. For example, something very sugary. You know, if you get sugar on your hands, your hands stick together. It's difficult to move them apart. Honey, for example…

Amina: Exactly..

Rich: ...very sticky. 

Amina: Exactly… 

Rich: If you put your hand in honey, you might not get your hand out. Right..? It will be together like Winnie the Pooh. I don't know if you...do you know Winnie the Pooh? Yes. Okay. Um, so yeah, Winnie the Pooh would put his hand in some sticky honey, but in this case here, it's the mucus inside the body that becomes sticky. 

(Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh, and this was followed by The House at Pooh.) 

Amina: Yes, sticky. 

Rich: Not very nice. 

Amina: Mhmmm.. 

Rich: So what, what results have you had so far? Have you had some positive results? In the hospital.

Amina: Unfortunately no,  the findings make us strongly suspect that we are dealing with a CoVid-19 infection, *ground glass pattern areas which even in the initial stages affect both lungs in particular, the lower lobes and posterior segments. And these findings are present on chest CTs in practically 50% of patients in the first two days. And for this neuron, the CT is being used as a screening or a diagnostic method. 

(*Above is a picture of a ground glass pattern area. Ground-glass opacification/opacity (GGO) is a descriptive term referring to an area of increased attenuation in the lung on computed tomography (CT) with preserved bronchial and vascular markings.) 

Rich: Okay. Uh, so I know there's a lot of negativity about the Coronavirus as well, but I've actually seen many beautiful things, including people like yourself working very hard to help combat this.

Amina: Yes

Rich: I think it really is amazing how hard the medical staff around the world are working. Has there been anything very positive that you've seen as the results in the recent months? 

Amina: Um, personally speaking, I believe this tiny creature, let's say...um...has had some positive points in its favor. It has make...it has made people think that how much some simple things like….I don't know...holding your partner's hand or intimate gatherings can be enjoyable. And the thing that warms my heart and lifts my spirits really. Uh, is that to see how compassionate, sympathetic and caring are Iranian people. They send us flowers, cookies, and energetic letters and it makes us to stay fresh during the work. 

Rich: Wow. I want some cookies. I'm not doing it. I'm not doing anything though. I don't deserve any cookies. 

Amina: No you deserve it… 

Rich: But is there a way I can send you some cookies? I don't know how that would work. Let's talk about this afterwards. If I can send you some cookies…

Amina: Okay... 

Rich: I'd like to do that, cause I really do think it's amazing. The...I'm so...I'm so impressed by the, the medical community's response, and uh, yeah, it's really impressive, really impressive.

Amina: Yes 

Rich: Uh, something very special. So, yeah, we'll talk about that. Maybe I'll try and send you some cookies if we can find a way..

Amina: Okay…

Rich:….but if not, you have to send me some. Okay. So, just to finish today, I want to talk about some vocabulary related to the Coronavirus because since this virus began, there's been a lot of new words that people were not using before, specifically related to this virus. So, we're going to cover just a few of them in the final part today. The first word I would like to cover is contact tracing, contact tracing. So, contact tracing is the practice of identifying and monitoring individuals who may have had contact with an infectious person. An infectious person, being someone who can pass the virus on to someone else. So, the reason people are doing this is because if you do contact tracing, you can hopefully stop those people, spreading it to other people. Is this something that you're doing in your country? 

Amina: Um, unfortunately, we don't have the appropriate, um, situation for this. And, um, unfortunately, people don't get measured seriously and they’re sitting in the streets and going outside with their family. And, um, I don't know what to say about it.

Rich: Okay. Yeah, so it's something that we're doing a bit in the UK, but not that much. It's a very hard thing to do actually. 

Amina: Yeah. 

Rich: The second item I would like to discuss is community spread. So, community spread refers to the spread or the distribution of a contagious disease to individuals in a particular geographic location who have no known contacts with other infected people or who have not recently traveled to an area where the disease has any documented cases. Okay, so that's what community spread refers to. This one final one I would like to outline today, and that's apex...apex. Now, apex typically means the tip, the points, the highest point. So, you could use this in another context. For example, the apex of Mount Everest, the mountain. Now…

Amina: Mhmmm

Rich: ...that would be the top of the mountain, but with Coronavirus, people are talking a lot about when the apex of the virus will happen, and for this reason, too you will often see in the news, people talking about the need to flatten the curve….flatten the curve. So, at the moment, we don't know where the apex will be, where the highest point of cases will be. 

Amina: Yeah, exactly. 

Rich: So, that's why we need to stay indoors,  socially isolate to reduce the extent of the apex. Um, and to flatten the curve….flatten the curve, meaning to make sure that that apex is not so high. Right. 

Amina: Exactly. Right. 

Rich: So I think that's everything, Amina. But thank you so much for agreeing to do this, and I hope to speak, speak to you soon. 

Amina: I hope to, uh, it made me happy to give me that opportunity to have a little share of work here, and thank you. 

Rich: Thank you. It's been a...it's been a pleasure. I'll see you soon. Okay.

Amina: Okay. 

Rich: Take care. 

Amina: Take care and stay home. 

Rich: I will. 

Amina: Stay safe. 

Rich: I will. Trust me. I'm not going anywhere. 

Rich: Alright, bye-bye. 

Amina: Bye bye 

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