Well …
Unfortunately, a coworker/nurse tested positive confirmed COVID-19 last week. And so have two of the residents. Three more residents are being tested today. And my heart is BREAKING for them. AND I CAN’T BE THERE TO HELP THEM.
They haven’t seen their families since January and it looks like they’re not going to be able to see their families any time soon. Two other residents have been moved to the hospital because their breathing was so bad they needed to go on ventilators. And it’s basically a SHIT SHOW at the Assisted Living Facility right now. Residents are loosing their minds and the employees are killing themselves with extra hours/shifts.
As much as I love my job – I’m not going to lie. I wasn’t sure what to do about returning to work once I knew the virus was loose. On the advice of my over-protective Jewish-Italian mother – I called my doctor to find out what I should do [because of my severely compromised immune system] and the fact that I’ve been exposed.
He said … And I quote …
“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? WITH YOUR FUCKING IMMUNE SYSTEM? NO. YOU CANNOT GO BACK TO WORK.”
After scolding me for a hard 10 minutes he said it was best for me to stay home for the next 14 days to make sure I’m not infected – because even if I am asymptomatic, I can still pass it onto others.
I feel totally fine. I just feel horrible that I can’t go to work for the next 2 weeks. I feel like I’m letting down my team/company. I feel soooooooo guilty. And I REALLY REALLY REALLY miss my job, the residents, and my co-workers. Words I never thought I’d say.
*****
So, here I am – in the same boat as y’all – loosing my mind and trapped indoors for at least the next two weeks.
The past two days I literally didn’t know what to do with myself. I am so used to getting up, putting on my uniform, and going to work – as a productive person in society.
* Side Bar: My son’s father, Kurtis, said, “Meleah finally decided to get her shit together in 2020 and the whole world falls apart. That woman has been training for quarantine for HER ENTIRE LIFE – sleeping till noon, living in pajamas, never shaving, rarely showering, day drinking, and not knowing what day it is. Maybe SHE should go back to her old ways so WE can all go back to work!”
Except, I don’t WANT to live like that anymore.
Or, ever again, for that matter.
The upside?
Instead of binge watching television, and instead of day drinking, or sleeping all day and being a lazy piece of shit – I am using this ‘down-time’ wisely. I’ve been throwing myself into my studies. And it’s REALLY paying off!
I have to admit, school is A LOT harder than I thought it was going to be. I didn’t even remember HOW to study at first. I’ve been out of school for over 20+ years, so it took a hot minute for me to find my groove again. And ‘distance learning’ is very weird. We all struggled to figure out how to properly use: Zoom, Course Key and Google Classrooms.
But once I got that straightened out?
I’ve been CRUSHING it!!!!
1st pop-quiz – I got a 24 out of 25.
2nd quiz – I got 25/25.
And then for my Medical Terms FINAL exam? I got 98/100!!
YAY ME.
Medical Terms are HARD, yo!!
I needed to learn ROOT words, PREFIXES, and SUFFIXES, and COMBINING VOWELS.
If you’re not familiar, let me give you just ONE example.
The word: DIAGNOSIS
SIS is a suffix. (The end of the word.) And it means ‘The State Of.’
DIA is a prefix. (The beginning of the word.) And it means ‘Complete.’
GNO is the ROOT of the word. And it means ‘Knowledge.’
To properly read medical terminology, you start from the SUFFIX, then jump to the beginning of the word, then you read through the word. Kinda like reading Hebrew.
So the term diagnosis, literally means: “The State Of Complete Knowledge.”
Crazy, right??
Here’s another example:
The word: Gastroenterology
GASTR / O / ENTER / O / LODGY
Lodgy = The Study Of
Gastro = Stomach
O = Combining Vowel
Enter = Small Intestines
Gastroenterology = The study of the stomach and small intestines.
AND I HAD TO LEARN SHIT LIKE THAT
FOR LIKE 19 MILLION MEDICAL TERMS!!
And now I feel like a FUCKING genius.
* It’s funny … when I actually watch television – which is rarely these days – and it happens to be a medical show, or even a television commercial with medical terms I know what they’re saying!!
“Side effects may include peritonitis…”
That means inflammation “itis” of the “peritoneum” – which is the double layer membrane surrounding the abdominal cavity!
See.
Genius.
Anyway… that’s about all I have for now.
This person needs to get back to studying!
Stay Tuned.
Love,
M
