Little Person
My boss decided to take the first two weeks in January off. As usual he waited until the last moment to tell me probably because he knew I'd be pretty angry. That part of the month is one of the busiest in retail pharmacy as many people have insurance changes at that time and there is extra work to do. I looked at the schedule to see what relief help we would get. I recognised several names, but there was one I didn't recognize. The name was Doug Linson.
On Monday I called the scheduler to express my displeasure at the timing of my boss' vacation (she's a good listener) and to ask about Doug. She really didn't know anything about him. I'd have to wait and see.
It was busy on Monday. I was barely keeping up with the work load and mentally cursing the person who didn't put overlap into the schedule. At three o'clock the door opened. An unfamiliar person stepped into the pharmacy.
My first thought was "Uh Oh." My second thought was to remind myself not to look obvious.
Standing there was Doug, a little person. When I say little person I don't mean child. I mean a person that would formerly be called a dwarf. As in Snow White and the Seven ....., as in the Munchkins from "The Wizard of Oz."
He said, "I'm Doug." I said, "I know, the only other person who would be coming is Rae and you don't look like her." I reached down to shake the hand he offered. I towered over him like an Amazon woman. He asked where the keys were and I told him, happy to be rid of him for a few minutes.
How was he going to work? He was just a bit taller than the counter. He would have trouble reaching the keyboard and phone and would need to adjust the screen. I wasn't even sure the screen could be made low enough for him. This was not good, not good at all.
He came back and said he needed help with the lock box. I followed him back to it and watched him climb up on a milk crate so he could reach it. This was going to be interesting.
I cleared off my workstation and let him log into it. With some help from a stool he would be able to reach things although it wasn't going to be comfortable. I showed him where things were uncomfortable about the fact that there were a lot of things he wouldn't be able to reach. Even with the stool some places would be a stretch. I wondered what some of our customers would think when they ask to speak to the pharmacist and a person just barely taller than the counter steps up. We have one customer that is known for his bigotry.
It turned out that he and I were in pharmacy school at North Dakota at about the same time. How I could have missed him I don't know. It's not like NDSU has a large group of little people studying there,but it meant that he had been in the business for awhile and would be able to adapt. Although I was still worried about his ability to function, I left as I had an appointment to go to.
I came into work and saw that he was just fine. He has set up my work station as best he could and was relying on the tech staff to do most of his running for him. He'd found someone to open the gates around the pharmacy after he unlocked them as he was too short to do it himself.
I felt bad for him. The only things that I need at my workplace are for the mouse to be on the left side and a left handed counting tray. I don't need anywhere near the amount of adaptations that Doug does. I thought about what his life must be like. Things that I take for granted like pushing a grocery cart, carrying a basket, driving, and eating in restaurants are much more difficult for him. He most likely has to endure stares and a certain amount of suspicion that I don't usually face. The fact that he is working in retail pharmacy is amazing. Institutional pharmacy would probably be easier.
I have a great amount of respect for Doug. We need more people with his kind of quiet courage.
On Monday I called the scheduler to express my displeasure at the timing of my boss' vacation (she's a good listener) and to ask about Doug. She really didn't know anything about him. I'd have to wait and see.
It was busy on Monday. I was barely keeping up with the work load and mentally cursing the person who didn't put overlap into the schedule. At three o'clock the door opened. An unfamiliar person stepped into the pharmacy.
My first thought was "Uh Oh." My second thought was to remind myself not to look obvious.
Standing there was Doug, a little person. When I say little person I don't mean child. I mean a person that would formerly be called a dwarf. As in Snow White and the Seven ....., as in the Munchkins from "The Wizard of Oz."
He said, "I'm Doug." I said, "I know, the only other person who would be coming is Rae and you don't look like her." I reached down to shake the hand he offered. I towered over him like an Amazon woman. He asked where the keys were and I told him, happy to be rid of him for a few minutes.
How was he going to work? He was just a bit taller than the counter. He would have trouble reaching the keyboard and phone and would need to adjust the screen. I wasn't even sure the screen could be made low enough for him. This was not good, not good at all.
He came back and said he needed help with the lock box. I followed him back to it and watched him climb up on a milk crate so he could reach it. This was going to be interesting.
I cleared off my workstation and let him log into it. With some help from a stool he would be able to reach things although it wasn't going to be comfortable. I showed him where things were uncomfortable about the fact that there were a lot of things he wouldn't be able to reach. Even with the stool some places would be a stretch. I wondered what some of our customers would think when they ask to speak to the pharmacist and a person just barely taller than the counter steps up. We have one customer that is known for his bigotry.
It turned out that he and I were in pharmacy school at North Dakota at about the same time. How I could have missed him I don't know. It's not like NDSU has a large group of little people studying there,but it meant that he had been in the business for awhile and would be able to adapt. Although I was still worried about his ability to function, I left as I had an appointment to go to.
I came into work and saw that he was just fine. He has set up my work station as best he could and was relying on the tech staff to do most of his running for him. He'd found someone to open the gates around the pharmacy after he unlocked them as he was too short to do it himself.
I felt bad for him. The only things that I need at my workplace are for the mouse to be on the left side and a left handed counting tray. I don't need anywhere near the amount of adaptations that Doug does. I thought about what his life must be like. Things that I take for granted like pushing a grocery cart, carrying a basket, driving, and eating in restaurants are much more difficult for him. He most likely has to endure stares and a certain amount of suspicion that I don't usually face. The fact that he is working in retail pharmacy is amazing. Institutional pharmacy would probably be easier.
I have a great amount of respect for Doug. We need more people with his kind of quiet courage.
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