NEW CHALLENGES OF MY LIFE

Dear Auntie Patti Koh,

So sorry for the long absence. I miss you too!
I was so busy because after an early retirement from my airline job, I was so bored at home and will just get bigger and bigger everyday because my only relaxation at home is to cook and eat and cook and eat. My wife is complaining about it because it was only the two of us now at home. It is so lonely at times. The two boys have decided to be on their own. My eldest son is now living with his girlfriend and will still not get married, so they say until they are both 29 years old.

I was at the park one time and was watching a group of people that walk into the park. They are the Twice Blest in our society, because they are adults but they are like little kids. These are the mentally handicap and they were being looked after by an individual, whom at first I thought was the warden in a prison cell. I happen to catch her look and she smiled at me. I talked to her while we are both watching these people, she calls Consumers, play at the park.

We talk for a long time and she explained to me what she does and how she takes care of these Special People of God. She told me how she started and how she got her certification to take care of these Consumers. I was so enthralled with her story, so I asked her if I can watch their workshop. It is like a school. I was told, I have to volunteer in order for me to watch them. So I did.

After weeks of volunteering, I am now part of the people, or what they call (DSP) Direct Service Personnel and have undergone the trainings required, including the (CPI) Crisis Prevention Intervention, not to mention other certifications needed, including MedsPass. The training was hard, it was very rewarding. I am now listed as a DSP for the state of Illinois, caring and looking after the Mentally Handicap.

I went back to school, to top it all. I want to learn more and understand the need for this type of profession. So I enrolled to study LPN( License Practical Nurse). The College of Lake County checked my credentials including my TOEFL score. Since I have already two Bachelors Degree and also studied Respiratory Therapy as an undergraduate, all of the pre-requisites have been met and so I only have one semester left and could take the licensure next year, when I graduate this winter.

And so Auntie Patti Koh, I now work for a foundation that looks after the mentally impaired and still go to school. I am assigned in a house that has total of five (5) Consumers. I was given a nice work hours so I can still go to school. I work from Mondays to Fridays, from 6:00 am to 12noon. On my first week, I kept on crying and cannot understand the sad state of life of these people. But now, with patience and understanding, I am now adjusted with the work and became closer to these Twice Blest children of God. I told my two boys how lucky they are and gave them a brief history of these people that I am looking after.

I love my work and it is very rewarding Auntie. I hope you are here to see and watch me care for these Special Children of God.

Sincrely Yours,

INFRATERNAM MEAM