Mary Daniel is an angel. When disaster strikes, most people hide. They protect themselves and those they love. For Mary, that was not easy. When COVID began, they wouldn’t let her see her husband. So she did what she thought was right: Mary took a dishwashing job to be able to see her loved one.
When you are passionate about creating positive change, the manner in which you conduct yourself and the positivity of raising your voice to ignite that change is impactful.
Mary’s husband Steve was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and Mary made an incredibly difficult decision—to move him into a memory care community in Jacksonville. Every evening, Mary would go see her husband, get him ready for bed. For a while, it worked. Mary could work during the day and spend time with her husband at night, just like things used to be.
Then, disaster. The pandemic changed everything so quickly. One day, Mary came to see her husband and nothing was out of the ordinary. The next, she was not allowed in. Days turned into weeks, and it was becoming clear to Mary that she needed to do more than just wait.
“I knew he couldn’t speak,” Mary began. “He speaks a lot, but I can’t understand what he says. So FaceTime window visits were just—it was just too hard. He cried during the two window visits that we actually did try. I knew he was declining. He lost 10 pounds in the first month and I knew I had to get to him somehow.”
Mary started gaining traction in the local news with her story. Finally, the community offered her a job. “They said, ‘we have a part-time job if you’ll take it.’ And I said, ‘I’ll take it.’ And then I asked them, ‘what is it?’ And they said, ‘it’s a dishwasher.’ So I said, ‘all right.’” And that was that.
When you are passionate about creating positive change, the manner in which you conduct yourself and the positivity of raising your voice to ignite that change is impactful.
All photos provided by Mary Daniel. 11
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