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I'm a porter. It's my job to supervise a small crew of housekeeprs cleaning and sanitizing rooms. It's a hard job at times. Cleaning up blood, urine, vomit feces and of course having to clean Covid rooms after the patient has been moved ‘’upstairs’’ to another floor or has expired.

I'm often asked by the nurses to help transfer a deceased patient off the stretcher onto a metal morgue stretcher. It's one thing to help a patient who can't walk to well but when they're dead you really understand what the term ''dead weight'' means. Covid rooms are tough. That's when I have to put on the ''moon suit'' as I call it. Gown, full face shield , cap and gloves off course. Never handle anything in an ER without wearing gloves. One of the worst things I had to do was clean up blood and brain matter from a woman who had her head bashed in. This poor woman's head was beaten in so badly there was brain matter in her mouth and nostrils and on the floor. And the person who did it to her was her own son. Last night I had the rare honor and privilege to meet "Eddie. Eddie told me he was 100 years old and he was wearing a cap that said "Iwo Jima Survivor''. Eddie served with the 4th. Marine Division, the same unit as my late father-in-law. I talked with him for a little while. He told he no sooner landed on the island when "A Jap mortar round threw me 'bout twenty feet in the air!''. I said '' Good Lord, were you wounded?'' He said 'NO, I was mad as hell and went looking for the son of a bitch. Didn't find though''. I've met all kinds of people. Little kids, sweet old ladies, veterans, regular folks and some real assholes too. Last year I was bring clean linen into the Psychiatric Observation Unit( "The Happy Hatch'') and as I was putting away I was chatting with a nurses aide, a sweet young girl named Iris when out of no where a male patient, a stocky Latino kid walked up to her and punched her right in the face. The poor girl hit the floor and this asshole continued hitting her. I reached down , grabbed his right arm and put my left arm around his neck and yelled at him "Alto! Alto ahora( stop now'' in Spanish). Thankfully at that moment for nurses and security guards came into the unit and took control of the situation. I was attacked myself by some nutjob in a silver BMW who followed me into the hospital parking lot for some reason. I pulled over at one point, got out of my car and went up to this dude and said "What the problem?'' He flew out of his car and started shoving me around. Now years ago I trained rather extensively in karate and could have done a number on this guy but I didn't. Had I done so I would have been fired. The hospital wouldn't have wanted the liability and I can understand that. I called the cops, had the guy arrested and taken to court. He got off with a suspended sentence for assault. I've been working at this hospital, it part of the Barnabas Health System and I've been a patient in the ER five times for high blood pressure. I've had a pacemaker implanted three years ago and back in February of this year I had a cardiac stent put in. All in all it's a good job, the ER staff are so kind and caring to me,. I'd do anything for them.

>> I’ve met all kinds of people. Little kids, sweet old ladies, veterans, regular folks and some real assholes too.

I make it a point to keep the bathrooms clean so the janitorial service doesn’t have to clean up after the idiots. And I’m talking about professional office space.

Your porter responsibilities are obviously far more in depth and precarious.

I belong to a family of Cops, Nurses, & EMTs. The stories you shared are not uncommon — but each with their unique challenges. Ultimately, every situation is subject to the quality of care... and love.