where what goes around comes back to.

the problem with waking so early is that it’s just too quiet, and my brain is so full.

this morning, it’s about karma. i don’t care who you are, what goes around comes around, and i’m witnessing that very thing at work right now.

one of the reasons i left the prison was because i knew it wouldn’t be long before gentry left, and i wasn’t staying there without her. they would have worked me to death - not that i didn’t work like a dog already. and it’s strange, but at one point, i wanted to leave because gentry was THERE.

i have an idea why she’s leaving. it’s because the assistant director of nursing is being made an example of…and gentry is afraid the same thing will happen to her. the new regime is sweeping through, but they should keep in mind as they dish out what the old one dished out that what goes around will come back to bite you.

i watched as the old regime deliberately trumped up charges, treated the nurses like dirt, got rid of people because they didn’t like them. they would find a way…but i honestly believe that the asst. DON and gentry are getting theirs for what they did to a woman named lillie.

lillie had family health issues she was dealing with. her son had aids, and her live in boyfriend of 7 years was dying of cancer. the woman had more on her than any human being should ever have to face alone, and some nights, she didn’t make it in to work because she was at the ER with one or the other. and then she herself had to have surgery. but she was a good nurse. and she had the time to take, so she took it.

lillie’s boyfriend died. she was with him when the end came, and she took a few days out of work to bury the man. and when she came back to work…she was fired. since she wasn’t married to him, she should not have taken time she didn't have anymore.  it was all used up. she didn’t qualify for any leave. and we all know the state has no heart.

but someone could have helped her. it’s amazing what powers a department head can wield if they want to…but nobody wanted to help lillie. instead, without proof, they decided she was an alcoholic and the reason she was out of work so often was because she was drunk. gentry had a hand in that. the assistant DON had a hand in that.

you know, i don’t doubt there were times lillie got sloshed. if i were facing what she faced, i’d be tempted to drown my sorrows and forget my load for a while. but they had not oneshred of proof. and her companion had just died. and then she lost her job.

i kept up with lillie for a while. when she found out gentry was my new supervisor, she warned me of what might happen. and from what i was experiencing at the time, i believed her. she told me she had a lawsuit against the state and she gave me a list of people who were named in it. i’m not sure what happened with that…i do know she fought for unemployment that the unit head protested and she won it. i do know that while the battle was going on, she lost her home, was forced to move to a slum-type neighborhood.  she had a heart attack and survived it. she went through hell.

and now the old regime that deliberately set out to get rid of people like lillie find their heads on the chopping block. one is under investigation and can’t practice her profession until it’s over. and i have a feeling it won’t be over until her retirement in august. and gentry is leaving of her own accord, on her own terms. but still, she’s leaving when she would have stayed longer. they made it impossible for her to run her unit. the battle that has gone on has been nothing short of explosive.

so what goes around does come back again. i think it’s the universe’s way of taking care of those who can’t take defend themselves from those in power. i think it’s the universe’s way of collecting debts incurred by the deliberate mistreatment of others. gives you pause to ponder, doesn’t it?