I had my first shift swabbing long-term care residents for COVID-19 this past week. I haven’t posted since because I left with a lot of unexpected emotions. It was amazing to be a part of this team helping the vulnerable during the pandemic. What I wasn’t prepared for was the /1

worry & loneliness of many of the residents. Here they were thanking me for swabbing them, wondering when their results would come in. Wondering if they had “the virus” so many of them had heard of time and again on the news from their bedroom television. “The virus” that some /2

Had lost friends & neighbours to. It was a lot. The isolation has been hard for these seniors & the staff that are caring for them. The staff I interacted with were nothing short of amazing. These residents were their family, it pained a lot of them to see them swabbed as it’s /3

Uncomfortable & unpleasant. They are the only family these residents have now due to social-distancing restrictions from COVID-19. For everyone doubting this virus & thinking that the elderly are “disposable”, they are humans & this disease is far from over. When this is over /4

I only hope that the government & the public remembers how much our society has failed our elders. They should not be living in fear, isolated and alone in their final days. They deserve better than this. Please remember after COVID-19.