My mom, my superhero

Note from the Editor: This is an article in a series called "Wethersfield Heroes," where our students work to highlight and honor those in our community going above and beyond amidst the tumultuous year. If you know someone that you would like to nominate as a Wethersfield Hero, please contact Mr. Martin at [email protected]. ​

---

By: Alecia DiCenso

    COVID-19 has been rough for all of those in the workplace. During COVID-19, many jobs, including my mother’s, have become much more risky. She is an essential worker and runs CT Home Care & Companions LLC. 

What she does is helps those who can’t help themselves or need assistance. She has a business for elderly assistance. She does this to help people and families who have loved ones they can’t be with 24/7. With COVID-19, her job became risky. 

Through all of the struggles with COVID, they didn’t lose any clients or caregivers at the start so her business remained consistent. The town provided her business with masks and gloves to ensure safety along with the mask mandate about a few days after the mandate. 

The changes started happening in early April. The only changes were that caregivers have to wear masks and gloves in the client's house, but they also have to get tested for COVID-19 every week. This was to ensure that the workers, caregivers, and my mom were safer to ensure they were protected. They were tested at clinics nearby and my mother would supply them with gloves and masks unless they wanted to get their own. 
    
 After talking to her about her business she has said that some people are more concerned than others. She said she has one client who doesn’t want the aides to wear masks, but they all still do. Other clients are happy as long as they are all wearing masks. 

I asked her how COVID-19 has affected her business. She said, “I have to be more attentive to signs if a client is going to be sick to try and prevent the aides from getting sick. The aides have to get tested every week so that the clients won’t get sick because some of them have other health issues.” 

She also received both of her vaccines. I asked her how she felt after getting the second shot. “I felt some of the symptoms but very mildly and it only lasted the day after my shot.” I then asked her if her workers are getting vaccinated. “Some of them have and others don’t want to, we don’t require them to.”
    
  I then interviewed one of her workers, Yahiel. She has worked for my mom for about a year and is mostly an aide at a house where the client is paralyzed from the waist down and can’t speak very well. I asked her how she felt about COVID-19 and working. She said she needs to work to support her kid and she doesn’t like the pandemic, but it hasn’t affected her and working. I asked her if she received the vaccine and she said she wasn’t sure about getting it. “Was your work life changed by COVID-19? Yes girl, I just hate these damn masks, but I gotta wear em’ and gloves. ” 
    
Overall, I asked them why they do what they do. My mom said she enjoys helping families and ensuring their loved ones are always safe. Yaheil said she enjoys helping people and getting to know the clients. The only difference for my mom workers is that they have to wear masks in the client's house (even if the client says they don’t have too), wear gloves and get tested for COVID-19 every week. It can be very dangerous for the client if they were to get sick because a lot of them have health issues. She loves what she does, and the pandemic hasn’t affected her not being able to do so!