Today at work, we got the word that a co-worker/friend passed away last night. She had suffered an aneurism and a fall hitting her head pretty hard last month while leaving work. Last weekend, she seemed to be doing better. She moved out of the rehab hospital and into a local nursing home. She was less confused and asking about work and her friends. Yesterday, she had a hard time breathing and she passed away.
This is the third time at this job where a long time co-worker, people that I considered friends, have passed away. The first was Jim. He was a crisis worker and AODA counselor and he was a wonderful guy with a full lifetime of stories. He treated everyone with unconditional positive regard all the time and called everyone "Buddy". He used common sense and his lifetime of experiences to help many people. He lived for his job. He worked through the toughest part of his cancer treatment until he just couldn't do it anymore. Now he's gone.
The second was Ruth. She was a feisty old broad who went back to school late in life and got her Master's degree in Social Work. She was a fierce case manager and advocated for her clients like no other I've ever seen. She could be a handful to supervise but she was a good worker and proud of her accomplishments, as well she should have been. She worked well into her 70's and at the end had a heart attack while at work. She was unable to return to work after that and she passed just weeks after her "forced" retirement. She lived for her job. Now she's gone too.
Last night, it was Mary. She was also fiesty and a work horse. She was ever worried that she wasn't doing enough for her clients but she always did more than was expected. She had a rough life but loved every minute of it. She had a memory like none I've ever seen. She could remember names and dates of things that happened long ago. Then she had that fall and it was never the same. She also lived for her job. Now she's gone .
I miss all of them. I'm very sad today. I will miss Mary very much. I worked with her for years, did things with her outside of work, laughed with her, cried with her and just plain liked her a lot.
But it makes me think too. I do not want to be one of those people who live for their jobs and then just die without having a chance to experience another part of life. The part where there is no job but adventure, relaxation and meeting new people, trying new things. I will take some time to evaluate my situation here. I might have to make some changes. In their honor, I think it's what I need to do.
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