Adapting to life with Covid 19

by TCPID Graduate Margaret Turley

To have a disability and learn to work can be challenging but to have your routine turned upside down due to the COVID-19 is unsettling. I am learning to adapt to working from home. I do this by turning the dining room into my office. I start my morning off with a quick walk around the block for about 20 minutes, then I make myself a hot drink. I settle down to my desk and log in to the network. I had some difficulty with this but my buddy Brenda set me up on to the network EY uses I can check my emails to see if any one messaged me looking for me to help them with any jobs. I like to stay in contact with my work colleagues especially Brenda and Colin my two work buddies.

Apart from work I like to keep fit so my personal trainer calls me through WhatsApp and we do a PT session 3 times a week. I find I am nice and relaxed now that I turned my mam’s school into a gym room and I can do my exercises in there and in the garden.

I also go for lots of walks as it is important to get out in the fresh air. EY have set up a step challenge that I am taking part in.

I also help my mam with jobs around the house hoovering, cooking dinner, washing up and feeding the cats. I also do the shopping and I have learned about on line shopping and click and collect. I just need to teach my mam now!

Its important to stay in touch with your friends. We talk and message every day and we do different dances/workouts through Facetime. Over the weekend I do dancing with our dance teacher in Sports Club 15. My basketball coach has organised that we record our daily activities and there will be a Blanchardstown shopping voucher for all who participate. The idea behind this is to keep us motivated and moving.

Once a week I have conference calls with 2 lecturers from TU Dublin Institute and 2 other researches with I.D.( Intellectual Disability). We are researching how people with I.D. are coping with the restrictions of Covid 19 eg schools/services closing and their routines changing.

I myself find it hard to adapt in these situations, I try and keep myself as busy as I can. I do miss “hanging out” with my friends and I look forward to hanging out with them in the future.