MARLA:  So you must have seen a lot of changes in medical care throughout your years? 

BERTHA:  Oh, yes.  Better and better.  It gets much better all the time.  The health aides learn more, too. 

MARLA:  Yeah. 

BERTHA:  Uh-hum (affirmative). 

MARLA:  And are they getting more training now, or --

BERTHA:  They get more training, they get more and more sophisticated training. 

Like they can monitor the heart, they have to -- it maybe something like EKG.  I don't -- I don't really know.  They have this machine they can hook them up to and find out if they have heart -- really bad heart problems.  They can do that.  And just about everything they can do. 

MARLA:  So they've gotten more equipment, as well? 

BERTHA:  Uh-hum.  Yeah.  That's nice.  There's telephone. 

MARLA:  Communications? 

BERTHA:  Uh-hum (affirmative). 

MARLA:  And were there any other -- were there any times when you wanted to quit the job? 

BERTHA:  Yes, a little bit.  Not really, but sometimes I wanted to quit because everybody's going somewhere and I can't go -- I can't leave because of the clinic. 

And at that time, I used to drink beer, too, and at that time.  And I -- I can't -- I have to -- I have to make sure I don't drink when -- well, you know, there's nobody else to take care, and so that was really hard to stay away from the alcohol when a health aide. 

Sometimes I have a little too much, and when that happens, sometimes nothing really bad happened while I was drinking, though.  And except our son had cut his forehead, he fell down, and my husband was home, he go get me, but I was already -- I had a couple beers.  And that's the hardest part, too.  I don't drink now, since for many years. 

MARLA:  Yeah. 

BERTHA:  Sometimes when you keep working with patients all the time, sometimes you have to get a week and start drinking or take something to calm down.  Sometimes.  And maybe not everybody, but I think I just making an excuse, but I really didn't want to drink.  I didn't drink when I was young.  I must be in my 30s when I start.  But periodical, for a long time. 

MARLA:  And then you probably worried, too, that someone's going to come knocking on your door. 

BERTHA:  Yeah.  I worry about that. 

One time the Public Health nurse was here, and I think, oh, boy, Public Health nurse is here, somebody is almost ready to deliver, too.
 
So I went back to my daughter and son-in-law's, and I had a beer.  Somebody knock and come getting me.  Said the nurse didn't deliver babies before.  So that was the end of it.  That's good, though. 

MARLA:  Yeah. 

BERTHA:  I was all right by the time.  But I let the nurse get the baby, the Public Health nurse.  I just tell her what to do. 

MARLA:  And what --