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QINGDAO TODAY
在线翻译:
szdaily -> Kaleidoscope -> 
Woman takes dishwashing job to see husband
    2020-07-13  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

AFTER 114 days apart, Mary Daniel was looking for any way to visit her husband in his nursing home while it was closed to visitors amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. When a dishwashing job at the nursing home became available, the 57-year-old from Jacksonville, Florida, the United States, jumped at the opportunity.

Her husband of 24 years, Steve, has early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and has resided in a memory care unit of a nursing home, Rosecastle at Deerwood, for nearly a year. Mary had visited him almost every evening, she told Today.

Everything changed, however, when the coronavirus pandemic heavily affected the U.S. in March and Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order prohibiting visitation to nursing homes in Florida.

“I went to see him every single night, got him ready for bed,” Mary told the outlet. “I went in on March 10 and on March 11, they called and said, ‘You can’t come back.’”

After trying to see Steve, 66, through a window, Mary got the idea to volunteer or get a job at the nursing home. At first, she didn’t have much luck.

“Then, out of the blue two weeks ago, they called and said, ‘Do you want a job?’ When I found out it was as a dishwasher, I thought, ‘Well, okay! I guess I’m a dishwasher now,’” she said. “I had to have a background check, a drug test, a COVID test, 20 hours of video training on everything, including infectious diseases. It was 100 percent legit.”

“The last thing I want is to be reckless and bring it in there,” Mary added. “I’ve been tested three times. I’m not going places I don’t need to go. If I have to go to the grocery store, I’m social distancing.”

Now, Mary works as a dishwasher for 90-minute shifts Thursdays and Fridays, and is able to see her husband Steve, she told The Palm Beach Post.

At first, she was worried about him not recognizing her, but Steve cried and was able to call her by name when he saw her.

“When the world is crazy, just to have an hour to sit with him, and talk with him. He’ll lay his head on my shoulder,” Mary said. “There’s something that comes with that comfort of just being together.”

Daniel said her husband is not able to articulate through words, so the way to communicate is by showing affection.

She said her husband now feels love — something he missed out since they were separated.

(SD-Agencies)

However, she still hopes the isolation policy for patients will end. “I’m so grateful... I am so lucky and fortunate, but I want to be with him every day,” she said. Daniel also started a Facebook page to advocate for patient rights during the pandemic.

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