Just the words “ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES” in block letters.
Her granddaughter once asked her if that meant she was saving the environment.
“Sort of, mija,” she laughed. 2/
When she was a child, her dream was to be an artist. She would chew her lip, and grip her crayon far too tightly as she tried to stay within the lines.
“Be practical,” her father said.
“Enjoy art in your spare time. Work hard. Then, maybe someday.”
Maybe someday. 1/
Just the words “ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES” in block letters.
Her granddaughter once asked her if that meant she was saving the environment.
“Sort of, mija,” she laughed. 2/
The job remains the same.
She gets the equipment ready on her cart. She is detail-oriented. Everything in its place.
The little walkie-talkie on her cart crackles to life. 3/
It will be the first of many.
She is often under immense time pressure, as rooms must be cleaned before a new patient can use them.
It’s a time-consuming process, even though she has become extremely efficient at it.
Laborious. 4/
There are two other people on the elevator. She says “good morning.”
One nods hello. The other doesn’t.
She’s learned not to expect thanks, but a hello would be nice. 5/
Worrying about a thousand things, as only a mother does.
Praying beneath her breath for crises averted and hopes achieved.
But always... she sees. 6/
Sometimes a room just had a Code Blue. Sometimes the aftermath is bloody.
There is a gravity in a place where a human being has recently died.
A palpable force. 7/
Some last lingering remnant of the trajectory of a human life.
Of an end, and a beginning.
As she wipes the floors, and changes the linens, and sanitizes the surfaces, she bears witness. 8/
Someone spills coffee, and asks her to clean it up before walking away hurriedly, glued to their phone.
She sets up her sign, “Caution (Cuidado), Wet Floor (Piso Mojado).”
And she mops. 9/
The patient is waiting! The room needs to be cleaned, now!
At least this one is a happier room.
The patient was discharged home. 10/
They tell her the solutions she uses will kill any remnants of the virus.
She makes sure she misses no spots. 11/
The morgue attendant grins at her.
“We’re both cleanup crew, eh?”
She smiles faintly. 12/
