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"The Gateway Pharmacy team here are also my family. We help each other and we manage. It's horrible to see so many people struggling - mentally, physically, financially - so we have to do whatever we can. We're doing what we're supposed to do, what we were trained to do, and it feels good. It feels right. Satisfying. But during the lockdowns it was crazy - the long queues, the phone ringing constantly, the hours we were working, short-staffed with no holidays. We were exhausted but we didn't have time to think. There were times when I was coming back home and had no strength for dinner. I just said hello to Leon (my beautiful border collie), had a quick shower and went to bed. Then, the next day, I did it again. On the other hand, maybe it was good that we were so busy because the time was flying. Also, Jack, our head pharmacist, is very good to us, very nice, and treats us like family. He's a very hard-working man, here every day, 7 days a week, and he always goes the extra mile for his patients. His knowledge is amazing too – he has all the answers. He's fantastic. We've worked together for the last 10 years and now I'm his right hand.
"It was terrible not to be able to be with my family in Poland. My mum had COVID very badly and she's my super-hero. She's very strong, a very independent, very successful woman. She's always saying, 'Julia, you can do it! I'm sure you can do it!'. She's always there for me. Even when I cannot physically see her, I see her every day on FaceTime. She's been running a COVID ward in Poland and she is tired as well, but we give each other virtual support. And every time my father was seeing in the news how many people were being vaccinated in the UK, he was screaming, 'That's my girl!' and punching the air. My mum made a video of him doing it and sent it to me. That's when I started to feel, 'Oh my gosh, I'm really doing a good thing'. And the appreciation of our patients, that gives me strength too."
"The Gateway Pharmacy team here are also my family. We help each other and we manage. It's horrible to see so many people struggling - mentally, physically, financially - so we have to do whatever we can. We're doing what we're supposed to do, what we were trained to do, and it feels good. It feels right. Satisfying. But during the lockdowns it was crazy - the long queues, the phone ringing constantly, the hours we were working, short-staffed with no holidays. We were exhausted but we didn't have time to think. There were times when I was coming back home and had no strength for dinner. I just said hello to Leon (my beautiful border collie), had a quick shower and went to bed. Then, the next day, I did it again. On the other hand, maybe it was good that we were so busy because the time was flying. Also, Jack, our head pharmacist, is very good to us, very nice, and treats us like family. He's a very hard-working man, here every day, 7 days a week, and he always goes the extra mile for his patients. His knowledge is amazing too – he has all the answers. He's fantastic. We've worked together for the last 10 years and now I'm his right hand.
"It was terrible not to be able to be with my family in Poland. My mum had COVID very badly and she's my super-hero. She's very strong, a very independent, very successful woman. She's always saying, 'Julia, you can do it! I'm sure you can do it!'. She's always there for me. Even when I cannot physically see her, I see her every day on FaceTime. She's been running a COVID ward in Poland and she is tired as well, but we give each other virtual support. And every time my father was seeing in the news how many people were being vaccinated in the UK, he was screaming, 'That's my girl!' and punching the air. My mum made a video of him doing it and sent it to me. That's when I started to feel, 'Oh my gosh, I'm really doing a good thing'. And the appreciation of our patients, that gives me strength too."
