Welcome to Pics By Faron 2024
Marney "Fireball" Redmond
Fulfillment by COVID-19
by Marney "Fireball" Redmond
Fulfillment by COVID-19
It was January 2020. My occupation was a packer @ AMAZON PHX6. While on first break, mid-month, watching the news, it was announced that COVID has hit America. I am thinking to myself that it won’t get to Arizona because the government and the CDC are proactive. I felt very confident in that statement as I went through AMAZON’s Career Choice Program and became a Clinical Certified Medical Assistant. I have an extensive medical background after my employment at Good Samaritan Hospital in the past. I was all set...good to go!
January 26, 2020, guess what!? It was here. Stunned, and never lived through anything like this before, I spent most of my free time researching. I couldn’t find enough on what to do or how to prepare. No one that I know has been affected by COVID, yet. I knew that I had to be careful and started gathering hand sanitizer. Being a packer, I also knew that I was at a higher risk than most of the community’s population. I am also an athlete in the Scottish Highland Games and knew that I was in pretty good physical shape to battle. We in the warehouse went about business as normal, until we heard of other facilities that had to close down due to the virus. I started double gloving with a nitrile glove under my PPE glove. I also started to carry a spray bottle of a 1-10 bleach and water solution, and a roll of shop towels to clean my area often.
February rolled around and I faired pretty well. Sadly, on Valentine's Day I had to put down my best friend and wingman, Chopper. He was a papillon, yorkie, and chow mix. It was devastating to come home to an empty home. At this time, I started to worry about going out, but there wasn’t too much data and intel yet to justify not going out. I kept my hands clean, and concentrated on keeping my body healthy. The “officials” haven’t advised us on really what to do yet. I was getting a little concerned because I had a competition and was signed up to judge my first Scottish Highland Games here in Phoenix, solo. My favorite holiday (St. Patrick's Day), was also coming up. I thought by now we would have a hold on this virus thing, but the numbers were showing otherwise. By the end of the month there were a few isolated cases in the warehouse.
March came and I had a great time at the Phoenix Scottish Highland Games. The crowd was noticeably smaller though. During this time more data and intel was coming in about the virus, and how to navigate through it. Everything was still open. St Patrick’s Day came, and my friend and I went to the George and Dragon to start, then onto Rosie McCaffrey’s Irish Pub. We were going to catch the Light Rail to “crawl.” It was mid-day when there was a shift in the energy in the pub. Word got around quickly that Gov. Ducey was shutting everything down at 8:00 PM. The shift was the liquor board informing the staff. At 8:00 PM I had my last “public” beer.
I thought that they at least could have waited until the next day. Being in healthcare I am super surprised that it took this long.
The rest of the month was spent searching Craigslist for a sewing machine and gathering materials to make masks. No more gathering of friends, practice, or hanging out at the pub. Cases were starting to pop up in work areas near me. I was getting really concerned about getting it.
In April, while working, I kept looking up at the ceiling and calling out to the universe, God, or anything else outside of that rooftop thinking, “I don’t want to die with my last occupation as a packer”. I need to empower myself to move forward. There were more cases in the warehouse. Mind you by this time AMAZON had in house testing and a plan for those that tested positive. They even opened up more work areas for to keep us distanced. A friend had contacted me regarding a position for a CCMA. I applied, but it turned out to be for one day a week. It didn’t work with my schedule.
May came and went. By this time, I felt depressed and totally isolated. Kept going to work, coming home to make masks for friends, and whomever. I was thinking I was fulfilling everyone else’s life except my own. At the end of May I got a text message from my friend who is a RN. She notified me of a part time position at her place of employment. I applied and got it! Now working six days a week with very little time in the house was helpful. It kept me busy. I was missing time with friends and family. I missed practicing for the Highland Games as it is a great outlet for stress which was building up.
June and July were pretty much more of the same...isolated, stressed and didn’t want to die as a “packer.”
August, my birthday month, I for the thousandth time looked up at the ceiling and said to myself and any entity out there, “Please make this happen for me, please”. I was approached by the Nurse Manager at the Gastrointestinal Practice to see if I would like to go full time. It came with a catch though. I had to accept a position as an endoscopic technician. Having the confidence of a “Highlander” and an “AMAZONIAN” I gladly accepted this new challenge. I gave them a catch back and asked to become certified. They agreed and paid for my education and exam.
September was my first solo month as being an endoscopic technician! There were built in challenges as you would expect. The biggest is the supply chain during COVID. I spent the end of September into October preparing for my new role and the exam.
October came and I took the National Examination. Because of (you guessed it) COVID, I wouldn’t find out my results until November. Ugh, hopefully the last loop in a crazy year.
By November, I was getting the hang of my role. I received my first COVID vaccine. I truly enjoy the opportunity to serve our patients and staff by providing safe and reliable equipment. My mother passed away as a result of colon and anal Cancer several years ago. I feel that I was put here for many purposes. By the way I PASSED! This is my new passion!
In December I celebrated that I was able to be empowered and determined enough to make a career change during this pandemic. I received my second COVID vaccine. I was still very isolated when coming to the house. In fact, the house was just a house. I was given a Christmas bonus that I wasn’t expecting. I knew what I needed to do with that. The day after Christmas I went to Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA and came home with a calico kitten. My house became a home again that day!
January, February, March, April, and May have come and gone. I am so glad that things are returning to “normal.” Hopefully I will get the chance to see y’all soon!
If it wasn’t for COVID, I wouldn’t have jumped. I am blessed, healthy, employed, empowered, determined and very fulfilled! Happy to say that I am no longer a packer or going to die as one. Thanks to AMAZON and Arizona Digestive Center I am a Clinical Certified Medical Assistant, Certified Flexible Endoscope Reprocessor. CCMA/CFER.
PLEASE if you have colon cancer in your family, experiencing digestive issues, or are over 45 years old, get scheduled for your colonoscopy! Thank you so much for reading my story.