I FIND MY NEW JOB EXCITING

Dear Auntie Patti Koh,

Sorry, I don't visit you very often nowadays, because I am busy with schooling and doing my new job. I find it very fulfilling and very challenging.

Yesterday, Sunday, I was off from work and there is an ongoing summer fair in my town and I saw one of my patient who is active and can fend for himself, at the fair ground. I asked him if he wanted something to eat and he told me that he has already eaten and just wanted some ice cone. So I treated him for an ice cone.

I was watching him from a distance and see if there will be some problem, in case anybody mess up with him. I always carry my ID with me where I work and the certificate that I am authorized to look after these type of person.

They are God's Twice Blest and for me, there is nothing like being a champion for these God's creatures who cannot speak for themselves and are very innocent and pure in their minds and in their thinking. They are mentally impaired, but some of them has the ability to move around, express themselves and even work and earn money as normal human being, but of course with supervision.

As I watch my ward from a distance, he was standing in front of the stage where there is a live band playing and there are people dancing. He was also dancing and clapping with the rhythm of the music and the singing. I was with my wife and asked her to look from the distance my patient. He so innocent and I am so overprotective of him.

When the band said they will be singing their last song, my patient approached me and said he will just walk by himself to his home. He said I am off today and he does not want to disturb him. He walked back to his home to join some of his friends like him, Twice Blest, but he does not know that I was following him in my car with my wife from a distance.

And so Auntie Patti Koh, my deeds for today looking for that young man that is mentally impaired, has done its course. I felt great inside me and I felt happy that I am part of their daily lives, from Mondays to Saturdays of the week and I look forward in being part of their lives, as long as I have the ability and the strength to do so.


Sincerely Yours,

INFRATERNAM MEAM

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