Letters to the Editor
Where’s the Respect?
Dear Editor:
As a PCA for two years,
I also have a few things to say as far as working with physically
disabled/ handicapped people and their families. PCAs are not mechanical
beings, nor strongmen. I myself had to stop
working for a client because of pulled muscles in my back. PCAs also get
ill from time to time, and we “have to” get to a client’s
home, no matter what the weather or how we feel physically. I am
not short; I am six inches shy of seven-feet tall, and clients
think I have AMERICAN HOIST stamped into my forehead. They expect
me to do the impossible. Also, clients should think about their PCAs
and what they do by “dead lifting” a client two
to six times a day.
And another thing is,
the PCA offices that hire PCAs should take into consideration their
former work history. I have done physical labor since I started
working while in high school, and it has taken its toll on my back,
arms and legs. And my back told me in its own way, “Enough is enough.” I got paid more for working
at the tire shop than working as a PCA.
And some clients have
no respect for the PCA; they leave notes and want them to meet
the client at an office building somewhere. PCAs don’t get paid for gas, let alone to play “taxi driver.” I
am not a plumber, an electrician, nor am I a construction worker.
I am a PCA.
Name withheld by request.
911 Works for Me
Dear Editor:
With all due respect to the Diedrichsens (Telephone Access: Is TTY
Still Needed?: July 10, 2006), the following statement is at least
partially incorrect:
“Internet (VOIP
and video relay) phone services do not have the capacity to connect
with 911; you must know your local 10-digit emergency number to
connect.”
I have used VOIP for at least
a year and have always had 911 access. When I initially got VOIP,
the customer had to configure it; from then on 911 works. The FCC
now requires these VOIP services to provide 911 access.
Thank you for a great publication! ![]()
Sincerely,
Anna-lee Aton
