Love in the Time of Corona: Update Fifteen: Jeanette Reyes-Fuchs, Playing Her Part at the IsoFac

 One of the more interesting changes in the life of our family -- one I realize I've not really mentioned up to now -- is that my wife Jeanette took a second job nearly a year ago as a call screener for the City of Austin's Covid Response effort.  She goes in every weekday, immediately after getting out of her day job for Austin ISD, and works from 5 pm to 10 pm, and Saturdays from 12 to 8.  She works at a hotel which has been repurposed as an Isolation Facility (IsoFac) for people who need to isolate due to Coronavirus.  

She takes calls from people, in both English and Spanish, and determines whether or not they're eligible to stay at the facility.  If they are, she makes sure they have transportation and are aware of all the processes, protocols, and procedures they'll need to follow during their period of isolation.

Now knowing Jeanette as I do, I never had any doubt that she would do the job well.  She is one of the hardest workers I've ever known.  Like her father before her, she takes work very seriously, never doing a job halfway.  As she always says, "Los vagos trabajan doble," a popular Spanish saying which loosely translates to "Lazy bums work twice as hard."  

Now that we've been stranded in our home, thanks to the Winter Storm of 2021, the IsoFac is patching calls over to her cell phone.  As a result, I'm witnessing her good work first-hand.

"And you are Covid-positive?"

"Anyone else?"

"And how old are you?"

"And your daughter is also positive?"

These are what the "typical" calls have sounded like.  Now, in the midst of this freeze, and the subsequent collapse of our utilities, things have changed.

"How long have you been without heat?"

"And you've been sitting in your car for how long?"

"And the baby is with you in the car?"

"Are you experiencing any symptoms at the moment."

She remains the consummate professional, well trained, skilled at helping people stay calm in dire situations.

During a break between calls, she sits at our dining room table in front of her laptop, and watches a fitness video on her phone.  

"You okay?" I ask, realizing that despite having it better than most of the people who call her, these conversations must take their toll.

She smiles at me.  

She looks tired.

I've never been prouder of her than I am right now.

Jeanette Reyes-Fuchs, 2020