YOA’s Ron Santiago: Quality Family Time, Bible, Prayer

Ron Santiago, physical therapy manager at Youngstown Orthopaedic Associates, is hanging tough. You can read more about YOA at its website.

What are some ways the COVID-19 outbreak has changed your work life?

COVID-19 has drastically changed my work life as a physical therapist. I wear a mask all day, which took some time to get used to. It gets hot and uncomfortable and sometimes hard to breathe. After using a mask for a couple of weeks, I did get used to it. I have always disinfected treatment tables and exercise equipment after each use, but now I also disinfect my pens, my computer, my mouse. I change gloves and wash my hands after each patient and to be safe I also wash my face multiple times per day. It’s all time-consuming and it’s made me a little less efficient, but it’s well worth the effort in my opinion. 

How about your personal life? 

Obviously, some things have changed. I miss going to my kids’ sporting events and gathering with friends and family. As soon as I get home from work, I undress in the garage and shower immediately before I do anything in the house. We wipe down and disinfect surfaces often and we have not had visitors for weeks.  My wife also continues to work in the Cardiac Cath Lab at Sharon General, my oldest boy works part-time at a grocery store and my middle child works in landscaping, so we do stay busy. My daughter plays club soccer and she has been practicing using Zoom in the back yard. I never thought I’d ever see virtual soccer practices, but they work.  I also remain very active with our church, leading some Bible studies on Facebook Live, and I still get to church on Sundays to help record our church’s online services. 

 What steps are you taking to hang tough? 

Prior to the pandemic I was extremely busy — running my kids to practice, going to games, attending meetings at church. Just a lot of busy work. As mentioned previously, I’ve been able to complete some projects at home and work. I’ve been reading the Bible more and spending more time in prayer, asking God to heal our country and heal our world. I’ve really been able to focus on my physical, spiritual and mental health, all of which suffers with a busy lifestyle. This time has helped me focus more on the most important things in life, like quality time with my wife and children.  It’s been nice to spend time together. 

What advice are you sharing with the people you love? 

I tell all of my family and friends to be safe and adhere to the advice of the medical professionals. Do the right things, be cautious, stay away from crowds, wash your hands. However, I encourage them not to be anxious about this pandemic. I am sure we will come out of this soon. Our economy will bounce back as the rest of the country gets back to work. I encourage my family to take advantage of the extra time we all have and spend more time studying Scripture, meditating and seeking God’s guidance. 

Any other thoughts?  

It’s really easy to allow ourselves to become anxious, especially if we spend too much time listening to the media. It’s amazing how political this pandemic has become. I am confident that this will end soon, so I encourage everyone not to lose faith and to remain hopeful. Also, continue to pray for our leaders.