My Daily Struggle in the COVID-19 Lockdown

To the quacks and the TWA doctors out there, I have a simple request. Would you kindly leave my clients alone? One of the people I have worked with for a long time has severe cancer, along with other health problems. She has been very trustworthy and polite with her doctors, and and with me. Still, she has a cancer that could have been treated effectively with a simple, routine test. A long time ago, she had a blood test result that came back abnormal, but a certain number was not high enough to be cancer even though it was higher than normal. Considering how my client always went to her medical appointments, and always complied with treatment, it could have been prevented with a little monitoring. Guess what that no-account doctor did? Nothing! And then, under the Obama regime, the "experts" said that such tests were not necessary to conduct annual as before, so she went years without this test. Then, when Trump became President, the test was given annually again. That is ...

"And so Jacob worked for Laban for 7 years to marry Rachel. But do you know what happened? Laban tricked Jacob and gave him his ugly daughter, Leah, so that to marry Rachel, he had to work for Laban another 7 years. So you see, children, the Bible clearly teaches us, you can never trust an employer!" That is my favorite quote from my favorite play, "Fiddler on the Roof." When I first saw this, I thought it was funny, but my humor about it keeps getting dryer and dryer. Why? Because, with the exception of some employers, like She Sits by the Fire, employers are untrustworthy. Loyalty and dependence means very little to them. I have been at my current job for over 10 years. In that first year, I worked extra hard. I worked even harder when I had a client with cancer. I worked extra hours and spend almost 90% of my documentable time with her. I went more that above and beyond. I did things for clients that my colleagues wouldn't even dream of doing. As this woman...

I am so glad it is Friday and that the weekend is coming. Just two more weeks until my much-needed vacation. For those who may ask, I will still do my posts when I am in the monastery. They might be a little late if there is little to no internet. When the monks are working, I plan to use that time writing my book. This was a ridiculous day. Since my program director wanted me to get groceries at Costco for a while until I can take clients grocery shopping again, I spent practically two hours in that place because their setup was out of order, and so was the shopping list. On top of that, the store was surprisingly busy for a Friday morning, and I hate crowds like that; they make me nervous! Social distancing helped nothing either. When, oh, when, will these restrictions end?! It was in the 90's today, and I was so hot wearing that stupid mask. My agency had better give us some concrete answers soon; this is driving me bloody insane! Before I go further, a big thank you to Past...

Today was pretty productive. Someone asked to be removed from the email list because, since they are in the at-risk population, my posts make them uneasy. I understand; it's no problem. I removed them from my list--no harm, no foul. I don't want to make anyone more depressed or afraid than they are already. This is just me sharing my thoughts and experiences until this thing is over. For those who are hanging in there with me, thanks a million; I really appreciate it. I know this phrase is beyond cliche, but we are truly in this together. And we will survive--together.  Now, I am going to give each of you some inside information: I am also in the at-risk population. I have asthma, Tetralogy of Fallot (a heart condition), and I have a glandular condition called panhypopituitarism (let's hear you say it in one breath!).  I know the dangers out there are more compounded for me, but I am the soldier I never was. Not only do I need to provide for my household, but my clients ...

I keep reading news about the high death rate with African-Americans contracting COVID-19. I can just hear the conspiracy theorists saying that the Man is bringing the virus into our communities to kill us off. This sounds similar to the belief that the K with the circle around placed on foods and beverages are owned by the Klan. Then there is the belief that Church's Chicken is owned by a White supremacist, and they place chemicals in the chicken to sterilize African-American men. Why else can you only find them in Black neighborhoods? Please! Seriously, there are many theories out there about why COVID-19 is more lethal in our communities. First, a high proportion of African-Americans are essential workers, which puts them at greater risk for infection. Second, those who work such jobs cannot afford to take sick day, no matter how sick they are. Third, the hospitals in our neighborhoods are a big disgrace. Fourth, so many African Americans just don't care about protection ...

Today was a little bit better, but pretty busy nonetheless. Had a meeting this morning in which we processed the death of that client that was discovered yesterday. I felt a little numb, but I tried to support my other coworkers, especially the desk clerk who found the corpse.  I had a lot of paperwork that was due today, and I was hoping to finish it in a timely fashion, but no! After calling clients to report  the death of one of their residents , I had to admit another client to the hospital after this client finally snapped from psychiatric symptoms due to quarantine Cabin Fever. I couldn't follow him to be emergency room because of the COVID-19 restrictions. I therefore had to fax the necessary papers to the emergency room and the social worker on duty and then follow-up to make sure that they received the documents. Surprisingly, they admitted him right away and did not have to wait a long period of time in the emergency room. But then, this hospital has a psych ward o...

Bad day. First, I came in to realize that a client's medication was sent to the wrong pharmacy, and then, when it was sent to the right pharmacy, they agreed to sent it right away, and they did--to another site. Now, my client will go 8 days without insulin. Then I learned that two clients had been arguing with each other all weekend, and one grabbed the other last night, and then they went back to yelling at each other again today. When I asked what happened last night, one person accused the other of something, and the other denied it completely. Of course, there were no witnesses. On top of it all, another client I once worked with died. This makes the fourth in 3 years. He died all by himself because his delusions kept him from his family and from having true friends. When you have delusions so strong that you cannot trust anyone and you are always in fear for your safety, life is very hard. It is ever frightening and exhausting. I would hate to live so isolated from others w...