DSP: A True Hero 

When a Little City resident tested positive for COVID-19 in April, the call immediately went out to find a staff member willing to take on the challenge of providing 24/7 care for the length of the quarantine.

The Direct Support Professional who answered that call was David Kim, which came as no surprise to his supervisor LaCresha Everett.

“I absolutely love David’s drive and he was very courageous,” LaCresha said. “David is like a four-leaf clover, very hard to find and very lucky to have.”

When David put his name in for consideration, he wasn’t sure he would get the assignment considering he had been at Little City for just under a year. But on Tuesday, April 7, David received a call asking if he was ready and he knew then he was about embark on an entirely new experience from what he had grown accustomed to during his first year on the job.

David said the magnitude of quarantining with a resident did not sink in until he was handed a special N95 mask for additional protection against the virus.

“Initially I was OK, but the brief moment I was scared was when they told me I could get rid of my normal mask and they handed me the N95 mask,” David said. “I kind of realized then this was a little more dangerous than normal.”

After being supplied with all the personal protective equipment he would need, David entered the specially designated quarantine space at Little City. From there, he and the resident – who is nonverbal – would end up spending the remainder of quarantine together without ever leaving the space. While the constant care and isolation demanded by the quarantine was challenging,

David said the support from the Little City team is what helped him make it through. Whether it was staff nurse Reuben Rosczyk training him on how to administer the resident’s medication or LaCresha dropping off home-cooked meals, David said he never felt a lack of support. Adult Residential Services Director Ola Olokun dropped off a specially requested Korean BBQ meal that David said neither he nor the resident will likely ever forget because it was such a morale booster when they both needed one.

Despite the challenging and extraordinary circumstances, David said he didn’t feel like he was doing anything above and beyond until he had a video chat with the resident’s mother during the quarantine.

“When I got to see [the resident’s] mother on video call and we were able to have that call with her together, I realized then I was doing something more important than my job,” he said. “She seemed really grateful someone was there looking after her son.”

And for all the gratitude David received from the resident’s family, he said he is equally grateful to his co-workers and supervisors at Little City. Both David and the resident are out of quarantine, healthy and back to their normal routines. But David said he is approaching his job with even more appreciation for the residents than he had before. While he could not verbally communicate with the resident during the quarantine, he said he learned a great deal.

“Every Little City employee plays a pivotal role in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the clients we serve, but it dawned on me that there are other heroes at Little City,” David said. “Without the people we serve, we would just be ordinary. I cannot help but to think that those we serve are as much heroes to us as we are to them.”