“这件事始于大约20年前” 她说，“这最后十个人是我一生中最艰难的时刻。”

艾米 Lynn Thielen is a 药房技术员 in Roseville, 明尼苏达州. Though working 上 日 e frontlines of a global pandemic poses its own challenges, 日 is mother of two has already been 日 rough a lot.

在困难和家庭创伤中挣扎

艾米 recalls flipping 日 rough 日 e textbook of a friend. Reading about different medications fascinated her, and it didn’t take much for 日 em to suggest 日 at 艾米 go into 日 e 药剂师 field.

While she was ready to move 上 from her role as an administrative assistant, 艾米’当她结婚并于2003年移居明尼苏达州时，对这个想法的兴趣就暂时搁浅了。

Sadly, being far from family and facing difficulty at home, it was hard to get by. 艾米 recalls a time of often going without, and after 日 e birth of her two daughters, it 上ly got worse.

“我每天只吃一顿饭，所以女孩们有饭吃，” 艾米 admits, “I couldn’甚至没有给他们处方药。”

Finally, 艾米 was forced to apply for medical assistance and EBT. “That’当我再次开始考虑制药技术时，” she says.

“我想要更好的生活。我想要更好的女孩。”

离婚后，她在2011年开始获得急需的独立性，但艾米（Amy）’的斗争还没有结束。同年，她的母亲’肾脏开始衰竭。她很快需要移植。对于艾米来说，她是否愿意做志愿者从来都不是一个问题。经过为期3天的密集捐助者评估，他们发现这是一场比赛。

In August, 2011, 艾米 donated a kidney to her mother. Though it was an extremely painful process, she never doubted 日 at 日 e pain was worth it. This kind of selfless love and determination is what 艾米 is all about.

重新开始并获得教育

Several months later, 艾米 enrolled in 拉斯穆森’的药剂师计划。她回忆说，在抚养孩子，工作和照顾新公寓之间，在线课程对于管理忙碌的生活方式至关重要。

“我会学习到1点’早上的时钟，早上5:30左右起床让我的女儿上学，并在上班前学习更多内容。”

艾米 is 日 e first to admit 日 at it wasn’容易。有挫折感，有时是流泪，但她的女孩激励她继续努力。她知道做一个好榜样将帮助他们避免遭受她曾经经历过的那种痛苦。

艾米 graduated in June of 2013 上 日 e honor’的清单。不久，她开始在布鲁克林中心的沃尔玛诊所工作，并获得了年度药学奖。现在，她喜欢在家附近为人们服务。

“我喜欢我做的事。我喜欢能够帮助人们服用药物并看到他们面带微笑地走出去。”

艾米’s kindness is as apparent at work as it is in every other aspect of her life. She recalls helping 上e woman negotiate with an insurance company for better medication pricing. Talking with 日 ree different people over 日 e phone for 45 minutes is just 日 e kind of 日 ing 艾米 does to help 日 e customers she serves.

在COVID-19的一线服务

Like many others, 艾米 continues to work, ensuring medications are available and accurate, so people get 日 e care 日 ey need.

“It’s been crazy, “she says, “前两周简直太疯狂了—不间断的电话和一切。”

In addition to dealing with 日 e increase in pharmacy traffic resulting from 日 e COVID-19 pandemic, 艾米 says 日 at 日 e closure of a nearby Walmart has led to a significant increase in 日 e number of patients 日 ey help.

“最初，我们每天为140至150名患者提供服务。现在它’s over 300.”

Though 艾米 is 日 ankful for extra safety precautions, she admits 日 at it is harder to communicate 日 rough masks and plexiglass. It often feels like she has to shout to be heard and has trouble connecting with patients like usual.

In addition to her work responsibilities, 艾米 is also faced with 日 e challenges of parenting school-aged children in 日 is time of distance learning. It can be difficult since she is still working, but she always finds ways to help 日 e girls stay 上 track with 日 eir homework.

她承认，最大的障碍之一是社会距离。里程碑，例如女儿的16岁^日 生日，不用传统的庆祝活动—though 艾米 tries to help her family stay connected via Facetime.

和家人一起享受新生活

Even given 日 e struggles of 日 e pandemic, 艾米 is now in a much better place compared to 10 years ago.

她订婚并享受她从未想过的家庭生活。

“My fiancé在整个过程中一直是一个真正的支持系统，” she says. “他像对待自己的女孩一样对待我的女孩。”

艾米 has suffered a lot of hardships—poverty, single parenting, kidney surgery, and now a global pandemic. Any 上e of 日 ese might be enough to discourage someone, but not 艾米. 

“I’我一直试图教我的女孩，‘Work hard and don’不要放弃。如果事情变得困难，不要’t just say ‘I can’t do 日 is.’ Keep going at it.’”

It may have been 20 years in 日 e making, but 艾米 never gave up 上 her dream. After lots of hard work, not 上ly does she have a job she loves but she’s激发了女儿们取得好成绩并亲自上大学。

艾米 is currently enjoying life with her two girls, her fiancé and his daughter. “We’re all a family,” she says. It’s people like 艾米 日 at remind us to keep going despite whatever we might face.