Photo By Jack Adamyk | U.S. Sgt. Jack Adamyk, with the California Army National Guard’s 40th Infantry...... read more read more
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YERMO, Calif. -- With less than 10 percent of the 19,000 alerted California National Guard activated thus far supporting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s COVID-19 call-up, many Soldiers and Airmen find themselves at home yet still directly supporting the coronavirus front line.
Sgt. Jack Adamyk, a Soldier with the California Army National Guard’s 40th Infantry Division in Los Alamitos, California is one such Soldier. He’s been given an alert and is waiting to be activated. For now, he plays a crucial role supporting his wife, Samantha, an emergency department nurse at St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley, California.
The current coronavirus pandemic has brought a new set of citizen-soldiers to the front line. Civilian workers deemed “essential” are asked to continue supporting their communities by providing services in critical areas such as healthcare, food distribution and public safety.
“I use masks, obviously, while I am at work and I use my PPE [personal protective equipment] as much as I can,” said Samantha. “With the line of work I am in, you have to assume that you’ve had some sort of exposure and just hope that your PPE did what it needed to do.”
Samantha said she and Jack go out of their way to take as many safety precautions as possible when she returns home from her shift – their guiding principle? Assume Samantha has been exposed. One of the biggest concerns for people working directly with possibly contaminated individuals is bringing it home to their families.
“On that front, when coming home you have to decontaminate and assume that you could have come in contact with it [COVID-19]. I want to make sure that I am not exposing my family to something that I have been exposed to at work,” she said.
Jack, still working full time as a visual information chief for Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, ensures Samantha comes home to a clean set of clothes in the garage and can shower and decontaminate before she hugs their 8-month old daughter, Josilyn, or touches anything in the house.
“After my 12-hour shift is over, I drive home and place anything that may have been contaminated in the garage,” Samantha said. “I change out of my scrubs into a pair of clothes that are waiting for me in the dryer. I take nothing from work into my home, including my shoes, and go straight to the bathroom to take a bath and wash thoroughly before changing into pajamas.”
Baby Josliyn’s usual caregiver is Samantha’s mother, who needs to isolate and limit her exposure to the coronavirus. For now, their civilian employers are working with them to adjust their schedules so that either Jack or Samantha can always be home with their daughter. They
have found that this new way of juggling shifts has brought unexpected joys such as a surprise birthday call from family and watching their daughter grow.
“One of the blessings is that one of us is always home,” Samantha said. “Josilyn is growing so fast. There are little things that she’s learning and doing every single day. It’s kind of a blessing in disguise that we are less likely to be making plans that might not include her, instead staying home with her and being witness to all that.”
The Adamyk family knows their individual time with Josilyn is precious because their schedules may have to change any minute if Jack gets activated with the Cal Guard. They have prepared for these situations, working together to continually adapt because it is part of their character.
“Being who we are as individuals, along as our professions, we always have a backup plan,” said Jack. “If I do get called up to serve my state and my community, Samantha would ask her employer to adjust her schedule so her sister can help watch our daughter.”
As Jack and Samantha work together to support each other and their community, they know they are not alone in their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I know it hasn’t been easy on anyone,” Samantha said. “We are all dealing with it in our own different ways and we all have different fears and ways of handling this. I’m thankful that the whole community is doing what they can to make a difference and keep us healthy and keep our government and our country thriving.”
Jack echoed his wife’s sentiments.
“While serving two distinctly different entities, our roles are still very much alike,” said Jack. “Samantha and I share the desire to be there for our local community and surrounding areas. We both understand that we are emergency assets and must remain ready to serve in our fullest capacity. We love what we do, because we love our fellow Californians and Americans.”
| Date Taken: | 04.28.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.28.2020 17:32 |
| Story ID: | 368709 |
| Location: | CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 152 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Supporting the front line from the homefront, by SSgt Melanie L. Nolen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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