Gloria: Lots of times, patients will say, You’re the reason I keep coming back, the reason I keep taking care of myself. I look forward to your smile and saying ‘hi’ to me.
Wesla: Lots of the patients come up just to talk to each other. One patient wants to come up here whether he has an appointment or not. He tries to get us to lie to his mother and tell her he has an appointment.
G: He calls almost every day. We’ve had other patients like that. We know we’re their only support system. The families have disowned them. That was really hard for patients. They were just afraid to tell their families. And I think that’s probably still true today because it is still not accepted.
W: When they miss an appointment and call, I tell them: I know where you live.
G: Sometimes they do keep the appointment just because you personalize it and say, I'm going to check up on you. Lots of patients do need someone checking up on them. They just don't have it from anywhere else.
G: You just let them know you’re glad they’re back. Nobody knows if they will ever be in that situation themselves. You don’t know what kind of events you’ll have in your life, where you become overwhelmed. You shouldn’t be judgmental.
W: Because but for the grace of God, there go I.
//LB//
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