Willa Ashenfelter and Irene Aukongak, Part 1, Transcript Section 3

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Willa Ashenfelter and Irene Aukongak, Part 1
Transcript Section 3

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KAREN: Irene, what about you, are there times you wanted to quit.

IRENE: A lot of times I wanted to quit because I worked 12 years without pay, a lot of us did, so -- but I enjoyed it. But there was a lot of times that I wanted to quit, especially after a person died. Or -- it's real hard to take care of cancer patients, too.

KAREN: So what kept you from quitting?

IRENE: Oh, like her, when we have our trainings, we used to start worrying about patients back home, you know, even little babies, elders, and people that are sick and on medication. And I start to worry, gee, who's going to take care of those people back home.

I had a helper, too, her name was Florence Willoya. That was nice. I worked for a while until in the '60s, until I got her. So that was a good break for me when I needed one.

There was a number of other health aides, too, that got on, too, like there was Phillis Farrell, she's here; Sharon Henry, she's at the dental. Sharon Lock. Sharon Lock now, she's at the dental.

And I had her brother to be on -- being on call once in awhile when he was down in Golovin, Howard, Howard Lincoln. There was a number of -- number of people that worked. I'm sorry, I couldn't remember the names, there were so many of them.

And people, some people always don't want me to quit. They always talk to me, especially the elders and people back home. They were real supportive. They are always being real supportive of what I do. That -- that really helps when they are real supportive. Yeah. What else?

KAREN: Yeah, I was wondering how you -- how you do that, how you do a job like health aide for so long.

IRENE: Uh-hum (affirmative).

KAREN: With it being so hard.

WILLA: Later on with the telephone, we got so we would call. We would call each other, and because things -- things a lot of what we -- we do is confidential.

IRENE: Yeah.

WILLA: And she knew a lot of the feel -- or a lot of the stuff I went through, I would call her and I'd feel better after my telephone call. So we were kind of there for each other.

IRENE: You'd be crying and me.

KAREN: That's good. You need somebody who you can talk to.

IRENE: Uh-hum.

WILLA: And my husband was there. Every time there was an emergency, he was there. Even if the middle of the night, he would get up with no problems. I didn't have to -- he would get up with me and take me to clinic, he'd go and get anything that I needed. But he was always there for emergencies. So without -- I think a lot of it was people in the village supporting us.

I had one of the older men in the village who would come into town and go back home, and he would tell me, I didn't have to go to Nome, you would have done well. But I -- it was -- I'd feel better because he would be here in town not -- seeing a doctor, somebody that knew more than I did.

IRENE: And that really helps with your husbands close by supporting you. And that --

KAREN: Is that the same with you?

IRENE: -- the family -- yeah, the family support. That really helps.

KAREN: Yeah, because you -- how many people did you have, Irene?

IRENE: I have three, two girls and two -- one boy. They are far apart. One is at Barrow, my daughter, she's got six kids, married to a Hugh -- search and rescue people.

KAREN: Oh, Bukatuk (phonetic)?

IRENE: Yeah, Hugh Bukatuk. Do you know him?

KAREN: I know his name, yeah.

IRENE: Yeah, he works, and then another one lives down in Anchorage, Bertha, married to Stan, she's got five.