(Snippets from the frontline)
COVID-19: Putting yourself in someone’s shoes
As a teenager, my father took me to Metropolitan State Mental Hospital several times, not for admission, but to learn how mental health effected his clients. He was a LA County Social Worker for decades, and knowing my interest in medicine felt it was an opportunity to put my feet in someone’s shoes.
While he saw clients, I interacted with patients in their social living area. (Confidentiality and HIPAA laws did not exist.) For hours I’d watch football, played cards, and shot the breeze recognizing there was only a hairline difference between us.
Fast forward to Santa Clarita, where my neighborhood is filled with first responders, many in law enforcement. They are honest, fair, and good parents of different backgrounds, races, and genders. All condemn the Minneapolis officers.
They know they are being held smart-phone camera accountable, and have no problems with it. But as I put myself in their shoes, law enforcement is difficult because of the firearms available to criminals. Every day, they worry about not coming home to their family.
We must realize there is only a hairline difference between all of us. From this, putting our feet into someone’s shoes will become easier.
Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.
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