Of course, coming home through the basement door is not the only way the coronavirus has reshaped her life. She's a global messenger for Special Olympics Pennsylvania, an ambassador helping to spread awareness to the community, but now she attends her state chapter's board of directors meetings via Zoom. And she competed in this month's Summer Games for Special Olympics Pennsylvania virtually, the spread of COVID-19 upending this live sporting event like all live sporting events. Special Olympics has encouraged its athletes to post clips showcasing their training, trying to sustain a lifeline, a connection, for those who rely on it. Johanna has participated; it's a pursuit she knows well.
She gave some fleeting thought to sitting out the coronavirus on the sidelines. Because this is the same childhood home, and these are the same acres, and her parents are now in their 70s -- her father has rheumatoid arthritis and is on immunosuppressant medication -- this whole endeavor, working through the coronavirus pandemic, is especially fraught.
That fleeting thought didn't take.
One of the first years she spent on the job as a direct support professional, a resident of the house grew so attached to Johanna that a local hospital gave her special dispensation to accompany him for all his medical testing. He could stay calm, bear the sensory overload and strangeness of things like CT scans, as long as she stayed nearby. And when he died, later that same year and with no family present, Johanna helped plan the funeral.
She had the family she was given and the family she created. What else could she do, she figured, but find a way to do right by both?
One night early on in this crisis, as sports organizations, including Special Olympics, shuttered and colleges sent their students home for the year and the millions who could stay home from work did so, she sat in her supervisor's office and looked at the wall where a few photos of the residents hung. She was at the group home late that day, taking an overnight shift and setting up a bed in the office where she sleeps, when she looked at the pictures of the people she provided care for every day.
"I'm not here to treat them," she thought that night. "But I'm here to keep them safe, and that's my mission. I'm going to complete that mission no matter what."