Switch

          The event took place in 2005. The consequences still haunt me.

I was on the way to taking care of the person I was responsible for. I was the primary care giver. I was relieving a woman who was elderly and wary of taking care of Frances because of her bad back.

          I was called by my supervisor. She had been taking flack because people had not been delivering medicine to the place she wanted me to dispense medicine. She asked me if I had ever given meds to these persons before. I knew I spent time with them. I decided I could.use extra money and went to deliver meds. She made clear the place where I went had a staff who was not med certified.
         I entered into a mess. The meds were not locked up. Neither consumer was able to tell me who they were. One of them was in a wheelchair and seemed fragile. I felt trapped, in a state of panic. The attendant refused to help. I called the agency twice- no answer, my supervisor, no answer. I decided to call a friend who guided me through the dispensing of the meds. I left considered my job done and went to take care of my main responsibility.

          Three months later I was called on unexpectedly by an investigator with a tape recorder. I demonstrated enough anxiety to become the centerpiece of an investigation that took place after one of the aforementioned persons died. I had been accused by attendant of switching meds.
          I was horrified. Three months ago I was considered good and now I was being accused of doing something that made one consumer sick enough to go to the emergency room.
          My instinct was to prove to myself and others I could not do this. It was certainly not on purpose. I thought I was innocent until proven guilty. I consulted with a lawyer and he let me know how much it would cost for his services. I was better off working at Wendy's. I was told it was best to get myself out of my predicament.
         Time passed. I was faced with meeting at a final hearing. I hired a lawyer just wanting to know the truth. I thought I would meet my accuser. Instead it was the young man's mom who was at the ER. I had my witness there who helped me dispense meds. I was determined to have accidentally switched meds leading to adverse affects. I was terminated. I was told I could apply for reinstatement in three years with no guarantee of future employment. The fact I called someone to help me proved to them I did not know what I was doing. I should not have delivered meds. It was there large stack of evidence against my own witness and testimony. I was advised by my lawyer not to take it to court. He said I had nothing compared to there circumstantial evidence. There main witness said it could have happened medicinally. That was all they needed. I was left trying to rebuild a broken life.