Shana Andrews Pays It Forward
Shana Andrews has been in and out of Monticello all of her life. She wasn’t born or raised here (full-time) but has spent more than enough time in town to call it home and now she has helped someone else be able to as well.
Shana, a wife and new mother, has worked as a patient care technician at Piedmont Newton Hospital for the last three years and prior to that was employed at The Retreat Nursing Facility locally. Born and raised in Fort Myers, Fla., she met a local fellow, Jawaan Andrews, and the two were eventually married on Valentine’s Day in 2011. Their first born, J.J., was born in December 2021.
Over the past two years working in the medical field, the patient care tech saw a lot of tales of woe with COVID-19 running rampant. But there were also tales of joy. Shana had a male patient in her care in December 2021 that had contracted COVID-19 and through a long hard-fought battle was able to head home after a couple of months in the hospital.
When her patient was nearing the end of his stay at the medical facility, Shana was more than happy to share in his good news. However, she noticed that he didn’t seem as excited as she about him heading home.
“You know, you’re going to be going home soon,” Shana recalled talking to her patient. “He was happy, but he didn’t seem so happy about going home.”
The duo began developing a deeper relationship and discussing the patient’s situation beyond COVID-19. Turns out her 57-year old patient had just relocated to Georgia from Massachusetts with plans on buying a home when he contracted the illness which sidelined him for months and postponed his plans.
With no friends or family here to rely on, he was at a loss on where he would go after leaving the hospital. Once the two got to talking, Shana came up with an idea that could help him beyond his hospital stay. Her family had recently inherited a house in Monticello from a deceased relative and the house was currently without a resident.
“He’s sick. I was saying to myself he shouldn’t have to stay in a hotel.”
As a diabetic, it was important for the recovering patient to eat right so he was especially worried about going from the hospital to a hotel, where he would have been eating mostly fast food.
So Shana took it upon herself to seek permission from her family about possibly letting her patient about to be discharged with no real place to go stay at the home until he could get on his feet.
“I really didn’t think too much into it. I was just thinking about helping somebody.”
Shana remembered the acts of kindness shown to her by her mother-in-law and extended family when she and her husband were married as she relocated to Georgia. She wanted to pass on the kindness and offered the patient a place to stay with the blessing of her family. He accepted and was very grateful.
The two remain in contact as she calls to check on him frequently. He is enjoying life in his new location with walks around the neighborhood and the ability to cook fresh meals instead of eating fast food daily. It also keeps him close to his original landing spot from Massachusetts so that he can continue with his postponed plans.
Kudos to you Shana!
