When Maryellen told her two children she was going to work at a group home with individuals who tested positive for COVID-19, they got angry, called her selfish, said that she didn’t put her family first.
Pavel lives with his parents. When he told them he would “shelter-in” with individuals who tested positive, they reacted differently. “I’m young, I’m healthy, and I want to help these guys. They need help. My parents figured if I stay there, then that’s ok and it doesn’t put them in any danger. I would like to keep a close eye on them, but they have each other.”
“If it was my parents, I’d have to do this for them. It could be me in a few years. We need to think of other people.”
The protective equipment helps to keep them safe, but barely hides their smiles and positive attitudes toward protecting others.
He only needs five hours of sleep, which he is managing to get. “This isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. We take it slow, we check on their symptoms constantly, and take all the precautions we’re supposed to take—masks, gloves, aprons. I’m not doing this for the money, that’s not why you do this. I am here because the Lord Jesus Christ sent me here to love my neighbor as myself. I am a man that believes that only God can protect us and lead us through this difficult time.”
Maryellen had a different message to her daughters. “I told them that these people have no one else to help them. Anyone of us could be in that situation. If it was my parents, I’d have to do this for them. It could be me in a few years. We need to think of other people.”
While she didn’t work in the home where she is now, she had worked their previously, knew the individuals, and volunteered to make the move when no one else agreed. “I keep covered, continuously sanitize the house, wash often, all the things we’re all supposed to do. We do a lot of communicating from their doorway, we smile, try to keep their spirits high.”
Both Maryellen and Pavel shrug off any sense of praise they receive, but acknowledge that they are essential workers to the individuals they serve.
