Heroes Who Battle on Behind the Scenes

In the early morning hours, my mind drifts into that space where I can see faces and hear stories. One story is of a farmer and family in North Georgia, a story of loss of eyesight, kidneys, and multiple hospitalizations. Another is the story of a farmer and his wife from West Texas, a story of hypertension, pulmonary problems, and heart attacks, and being brought back from the brink of death. Another story is of a farmer in NW Alabama, a story with surgeries, pain that comes and goes in intensity, and multiple hospitalizations.

There are more.  There are many more.

Somewhere in there I draw some comparisons between them and me.  Their challenges were part and parcel of the price of discrimination and its brutalities and facing down the Goliath, the USDA and the DOJ and many attorneys and complicated processes. The wheels of justice grind slowly, and sometimes along the way, the wheels grind people down.

My story is one of a medical procedure that demanded a CT scan. That scan revealed something I did not know about, a cancerous tumor growing on my right kidney. Multiple medical consults, multiple CT scans, two surgeries, and multiple blood draws by phlebotomists at TMC here in Denison, Baylor Scott and White in Sherman, and University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas.

Another thread is that posted by a longtime friend and former colleague of mine, Dionne. She honored her husband, Troy, recently in a Facebook post about those who serve behind the scenes. He is a clinical microbiologist who works in a hospital lab.

Another thread is one that I wrote about back in 2019. In August I wrote a post that included a phlebotomist whose name is Amira. She is from Ethiopia and has lived here for 18 years.  Another story from November is that of Achal who moved here from Southern Sudan. She has lived here for several years.

On one occasion, Amira did the blood draw on me, and then she walked the samples to the lab. As she walked out of her work space, I introduced her to Charla.  The lab must be on the same floor as the workspace for the phlebotomists. Generally speaking, I’ll have an appointment with the lab at one hour and then with my hematologist at the following hour.  I have been amazed that the test results were generated so quickly.

There must be a number of “Troys” in that space, and there surely are a lot of people who do work under the watchful eye of the “Troys” of UT Southwestern.

So, today I identify with my friends who have experienced much tragedy and procedures as a result of the trauma to their bodies and minds when dealing with the powerful USDA and DOJ. I resonate with them because I know that those good people had their own defined number of labs done.

In the spirit of gratitude, I am thankful for Troy and for what he brings to the people of West Texas. I am also grateful for those lab workers who very quickly provide test results to my physicians so that we can know which path to take.

And I am thankful for the spirit of service amongst the phlebotomists, especially those who immigrated from far away places.

My heroes these days are Black farmers who faced challenges to hold on to their land, physicians who oversaw their procedures, and those who worked on me, the lab personnel who drew sample after sample of blood from my veins, and the lab personnel who were unseen and provided accurate readings to my physicians.

So, as you meander along life’s paths today, as you do, offer up a word of thankfulness for those seen and unseen professionals who take care of you and me.