April 21, 2020

“As I walked out of the pharmacy on March 23, I went home and went on about my day. I started cooking dinner, played with my kids, and sat at the table and ate dinner with them. That evening before I went to bed I was achy and had a bad headache. I didn't realize that I would experience the worst sickness I've ever had in my life.

I was diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 25. Each day was a struggle to get through with a constant fever of 101, diarrhea, body aches, coughing, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, and a headache for 10 days straight. I really didn't think that I was going to make it. Everyday that I woke up was a miracle. I was so scared. In my house with four kids quarantined! If it wasn't for my family and friends I don't know how I would have made it. 

Today, I write this because I am completely symptom free and back at work. I go to work with a smile on my face because I know I could have died. I love being a sterile and non-sterile compounding pharmacy technician. I love making drugs that will help heal a patient and give them a better quality of life. I used to worry about the struggles that I went through in my life, but now I am grateful to just live it.

Not one day goes by that I don't appreciate each breath that I take. I go to work knowing that I will help make someone's life better. I've been a Certified Pharmacy Technician for 15 years and I love it. I know as I go to work each day no matter how many sick people I see, I hope that I can make a difference. After having COVID-19 and going back to work, now I'm not afraid. 

My words to all the pharmacy technicians is that it is easy to complain about the craziness we go though working long hours, sometimes under staffed, no breaks, ungrateful patients, and sometimes unpleasant co-workers, but during this epidemic my outlook on life is so different.

Cherish your family, your friends, your husband, your wife, your girlfriend, your kids, and everyone who you care about. Make time for them. Leave whatever happens in the pharmacy at the pharmacy and leave that place knowing you can handle it the next day.”

-Chardee Augustus, CPhT

Lead Compounding Pharmacy Technician, Integrative Pharmacy and Wellness, Baton Rouge, LA

 

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