Karen Reid has been a patient of the Williamsbridge Center nursing home for four months after the former corrections officer was admitted following a cancer diagnosis and painful case of osteoarthritis in her right shoulder. But according to her own testimony — and the testimonies of Williamsbridge Center staff members Monique Sampson and Maya Clarke — she has kept her spirits up for the sake of her own recovery and the morale of fellow patients.
“It’s just something I do,” Reid, 67, told the Bronx Times.
Reid sits in the Williamsbridge Center with Sampson and Clarke. Together, the three women laugh and swap stories of Reid’s “spunky personality” while Reid drops tidbits of wisdom, attributed in part to her time as a corrections officer.
“If you think sick, you’ll be sick,” Reid said. “There’s always someone worse off than you and you just have to thank God for what you have.”
Sampson, the center’s recreation director, and Clarke, the director of social work, say Reid has encouraged her fellow residents in her time at Williamsbridge Center. They reference how Reid has jumped in to give advice during minor conflicts between residents, how she opens up during recreation activities and gives Sampson, especially, an idea of what patients might want from her programs.
“Karen will be talking to patients, encouraging these patients, loving on these patients, and it’s like … wow,” Clarke said. “You don’t see that all the time. So to see that, and for her to be so genuine about it — it not only speaks to her character, but it makes my heart smile.”
Clarke says that she and Reid have bonded over the past several months through one-on-one time and conversations about Reid’s history as a corrections officer. She says that Reid always knows when someone takes a day off and is the first to ask where they went.
She adds that Reid will act as an advocate on behalf of the Williamsbridge Center staff, providing support to Clarke and Sampson in their roles, even if she is the one undergoing treatment.
Reid says she feels similar feelings of companionship for Clarke and Sampson.
“They help me and I help them,” Reid said. “They have become like my immediately family while I’m here.”
As Clarke and Sampson talk, Reid interrupts once to add, “I just love y’all.”
On April 2, Reid found out in an appointment that she is officially cancer-free and is “definitely so excited” about that news, according to Centers Health Care.
For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
