Fatherhood, Terrific Twos, and Teamwork

By Manish Trivedi, M.D.,

Division Director, Infectious Diseases, Chair, Infection Prevention Committee

AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center

I’m celebrating the terrific twos, recognizing my team, and appreciating my father this month.

My dad taught me there is nothing more valuable than time and spending it with people you love. Ever since I was young, he’s shown me how to live in the moment as he was present for my siblings, my mother and me. Recently I’ve truly begun to appreciate what it must have been like for him when he couldn’t be with us.

We were in the midst of flu season when the first cases of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV2) were confirmed in the United States in January. In February I became a second-time father. When my little guy was less than three weeks old, New Jersey entered its state of emergency due to COVID-19.

Like physicians and other caregivers throughout the world, there were nights I got home in the wee hours of the morning and left to be back in the hospital before dawn. I always paused to be present with my children, even if it was just to peek in at them sleeping.

Like many parents, even when I was home, my attention was often focused on work. At one point I was getting nearly 7,000 texts a day from patients, colleagues, family, friends and others who had questions. I bought an extra battery pack to keep my phone charged so I could be as responsive as possible.

My work with emerging health threats has included researching the coronavirus SARS-CoV. I’ve served with Doctors without Borders in Sudan and as the physician lead as AtlantiCare’s team prepared for the Ebola outbreak in 2014.

Because of these and other experiences I’ve had as an epidemiologist, I knew it would take a team effort to care for our patients and their families and to protect and support our staff and providers. As the situation and information rapidly changed, we all made caring for patients our priority.

My father, Niranjan Trivedi, served our community as a cardiologist.

I more fully appreciate now why he missed many of my tennis matches and hockey games when I was a student at Absegami High School and other special moments in our family life.

His focus had to be taking care of other people’s family members’ hearts – in his office and AtlantiCare’s hospital campuses.

I’ve safely kept connected virtually with my parents. We’ve talked about our shared concerns that people are not dialing 911 for emergencies – including for heart attack and stroke symptoms.

And we’ve shared many “baby’s first” and “big-sister” moments.

Like other dads at AtlantiCare and other organizations, I’ll be working – but just for a bit – this Father’s Day.

My wife wants to get me a present. I told her I have all that I need.

I have plenty of ties, including one with a picture of a coronavirus on it AtlantiCare’s Care Management Team recently gave me. It symbolizes how the efforts of thousands of our team and community members are tied to keeping us all safe.

The dedication and commitment of my colleagues throughout AtlantiCare is a gift to me – and to our entire community. I’m thankful for the sacrifices they and their families have made.

Throughout the pandemic they’ve taken extraordinary measures to provide care safely for all patients, and they continue to do so.

My daughter will celebrate her second birthday this week. One of the wishes I’ll make as she blows out her candles is that people will seek and get care for themselves and for one another.

My loving, supportive wife is my hero. Because of her, I was able to focus on working with our AtlantiCare team.

She was on the front line of our home front – much as my mother was when my father was caring for patients. She’s included me in special moments of my son’s first months of life as much as possible.

She and I look forward to making the most of every moment through the terrific twos of having a two-year old and a newborn.