Healing Reflections: "Therapy During Covid" by Brittany Homer, MSSG

"Therapy During Covid"
Story by: Brittany Homer, MSSG | Mayo Clinic Health System

I am a massage therapist for home health and hospice, and we were unable to go into homes starting in March. Our daycare closed due to staff issues, so I volunteered for furlough. My husband is an essential worker, so I was home, homeschooling our kids through school apps.    It was hard- there were tears from both mom and daughters.  Last spring my girls were pre- K and second grade. I learned to teach reading and spelling and part of math that I forgot about. I lost my temper more than once, but we fell into a steady rhythm.

As school ended and summer approached, we filled out days with books in hammock and picnics on our swing set. We went to the lake, started a rock collection, the girls learned to cook. We truly bonded in a way most working parents are unable to do. What started as over whelming, turned into a true blessing. I hope my girls will look back on and say, “Remember that summer mom slept out in the tent in the front yard with us and we went on walks in the woods.”

I was called back to work in August to the labor pool. A whole new overwhelm took place.    I screened happy and unhappy people before coming into the clinic. I had the signs and symptoms chart memorized and worked whatever shifts and hours I was given. I went from being home 24/7 to missing bedtimes. When screeners were hired, I moved to being a runner for COVID testing sites. I walked patients, the best mileage I ever had was seven miles in one working shift. This gave me better home hours but introduced me to a whole new world of patients. People were so fearful of COVID and had not left their homes in months, others didn’t believe in it, and there were others who were out there trying to get it to start a herd immunity. As the vaccine came out, I moved to the vaccine clinic where I greeted patients and brought them back to get their shot. Here, I met the most grateful people who truly saw the vaccine as hope. A hope we all desperately needed.

I received the call last week that I will be going back to Home Health and Hospice in April. I have been out of my trained field for over one year. As excited as I am, I know there will be a “re-learning curve” as I learn the new procedures post COVID and learn Epic Remote Client. I feel unbelievably blessed for massage to be brought back to hospice patients who simply came to the last chapter of their lives in a time that family could not visit, people were six feet away, and it felt like a dark time in our world.

Through all this my husband and family have been my rock. I am so grateful to Mayo for finding work for me. Many employers would not have done that.

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Art by: Mary Elworthy

MARY ELWORTHY retired from a 40-year teaching career in 2007 and started painting watercolor in 2009, after taking a workshop from Drawn to the Word artist Paul Oman. Mary continues to take workshops offered both around the state and abroad. She paints in her studio, at the monthly Chippewa Valley Watercolor Artist meeting at Beaver Creek, at Karlyn Holman U of K workshops, Plein Air with Jean Accola, and whenever the opportunity arises. Her work is displayed periodically at Beaver Creek, the Heyde in Chippewa, the Eau Claire County Courthouse, The Altoona Library, The Chippewa Valley Airport, at the Pablo, at the Eau Claire Library, at the Vino Cappuccino Bistro, the Artisan Forge, on the VAA website, and at her home.

Mary paints watercolor does needle art (knitting and needlepoint); reads (especially Scandinavian Crime Fiction); travels; sings; acts with the Wayward Players; plays piano; and performs with the MJ Consort recorder group.

Mary began teaching in 1967 and continued until 2007. During that time Mary taught choral and general music, English, private piano lessons and directed children and youth choirs. Mary and husband Ed have lived in Eau Claire, since 1968. Together they enjoy spending time with three adult children and their families, including 6 grandchildren.

Mary works to paint what she sees. Her subjects are varied and include travel scenes and family activities-especially of grandchildren.

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For more information about the Healing Reflections gallery or to get involved with the project, contact Sara Martinek.

To discuss the latest on Post-COVID Syndrome, head over to the Post-COVID Recovery discussion group.