I am currently working as a writer for a magazine called Ethos; an independent student publication that's mission is to elevate the voice of marginalized people who are underrepresented in the media. We just published our winter issue, and in it I wrote about what's it like to be in the home healthcare sector during the opioid crisis.
Linda and her granddaughter had an eccentric routine: using a mini shopping cart and going “shopping” in the kitchen. I would stand by, coloring the pages her granddaughter pushed towards me with eager eyes, and watching her load the cart while Linda smiled. I thought, “If I don’t have that when I’m old and gray, then what is the point?”
I work in home healthcare, and I assist elderly clients, like Linda, in and around their homes. When I was first hired for the job, I had no caregiving experience. I didn't even want to work in healthcare. But the significant pay raise the job would give me was incentive enough to apply. I had previously worked in many places, never finding the right fit. I knew I liked helping people, and seeing the way I could positively affect them. I saw the job listing on Indeed, and with a well-played cover letter and a follow-up email, I was hired.
On the first day of training, it was made clear we should not get too close to the people we care for —that we must maintain a sense of sterile professionalism. When a large part of home healthcare is spending time with and talking to clients, it's hard not to get attached. They tell you their triumphs and downfalls, and we are encouraged by them to share ours. They become our homes away from home; our friends we help around the house. If you have a recurring client that requests you as their main caregiver, then it’s almost impossible to remain impartial.
Linda, who is using an alias for privacy, was a woman in her early 60’s who lived in a trailer with her husband of over 30 years, her stepson and his girlfriend. She was assigned as my client, and we hit it off immediately. She was quiet with a sarcastic streak. We would spend our days going to thrift shops, playing board games or baking. We would sit on her bed and talk, every inch of her walls adorned with photos of her family, drawings from her grandchildren and the dolls she would hold to ease her into sleep.
As I was brushing her hair one day, she spoke softly about her past. She told me stories of her step-father and the abuse she experienced from him, and how her mother knew, but chose to pretend she didn’t. She would occasionally look up at the picture she had framed of them while she talked.
Linda had been through many traumas that had stuck around and caused her to become a haunted house - plagued by sorrows and leftover hurt. Many people choose to use drugs to self-medicate traumas that haunt them. This self-medication can lead to addiction. The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as “a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences.”
If you want to read the rest of this and other amazing articles go to Ethos | dailyemerald.com. There you find our magazine, including pictures, our past issues, and much more!
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