OHCA The Oregon Caregiver Spring Summer 2021

The Oregon Caregiver SPRING/SUMMER 2021 www.ohca.com 30 PROFILE question in my mind, or in Ron’s, that we were going to get this vaccine. We get the flu shot every year and have for years and we never questioned the science. We’re very thankful that the COVID vaccine became available so quickly because we know how these things can just drag on literally for years. When it became available, we just jumped all over it. We feel very, very fortunate. So, you attribute your openness to the COVID-19 vaccine to your experience with the Polio vaccine? Ron Fenchak: Absolutely. I’m originally from Pittsburgh. Polio was very big early in our lives, so were vaccinations, and fortunately, we’ve never had any complications from a vaccination. We were eager to get this one for sure. Eunice Fenchak: When we would start school in the first grade, we had to have the smallpox vaccination, so vaccina- tions have been a part of all our lives, and I say they are a blessing. What are you looking forward to doing the most in a post-COVID world? Eunice Fenchak: It will be nice to be able to go inside restaurants and feel comfortable to do that. We haven’t been inside of a restaurant in over a year. We also have a couple of trips planned with the kids, so we’re very much looking forward to that. It’s going to be family time once we’re able to travel and do these things. What would you say to folks who are still a little apprehensive about getting their vaccine? Ron Fenchak: I understand the concern because there’s so much media coverage of this and not all of it is good. Not all of it is correct or accurate, so it’s incumbent upon each of us as we receive news and process the news that we fact check the news to make sure that what we’re hearing is actually true and it’s so easy to do. Young people, of course, today, they grew up with computers, so I understand the disconnection, but I would also encourage young people to follow the science. I really have always believed in science. Eunice Fenchak: If they will open their minds to what the science is saying, there can be no doubt and they should trust it. What did you learn about yourselves during this pandemic? Eunice Fenchak: We have learned that we can survive. We can do what we have to do as uncomfortable as it might be. We can make the sacrifice if it’s necessary and that’s what we have done. The silver lining is that having made those sacrifices, we now are emerging from a very dark time and we’ll be able to resume our lives in a more normal fashion. Ron Fenchak: After a year of being sequestered, Eunice hasn’t killed me. Eunice Fenchak: The good news is we like each other, so we kind of don’t mind being together. We’re very grateful for the advocacy that was done on our behalf by Fee Stubblefield and the administration. Ron Fenchak: Ashley Hills (the executive director of Greer Gardens) did a great job. It is hard to keep 200 old people who have minds of their own on campus wearing masks, not getting together, drinking wine, and doing what we’d like to do. She did it right. Eunice Fenchak, a resident of The Springs of Greer Gardens, says she couldn't wait to get her COVID-19 vaccine so she could see her grandchildren. When we received our first vaccination, Eunice and I both came home and we came into the cottage and sat down and we said, “It feels like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders just with the first vaccine.” – Ron Fenchak » RESIDENT PROFILE, CONT.