As her supervisor I have been blessed by arriving at my desk to find my calendar changed to the correct date, my light on, and a fresh glass of ice water waiting for me. This five foot tall, strawberry blonde, southern girl with a heart of gold and the job title of "report processor" does for others, but rarely accepts anything in return.

One morning she received a call from her sister-in-law saying they were taking her husband to the emergency room because he was having difficulty breathing. She told them she had some work to do and, since our offices are only a few blocks from the hospital, to call her when they got there. Her husband had been off work with health problems for several months and she was the only one in the family working.

Soon her sister-in-law called again, asking her to go to the hospital right away. The doctors were very concerned about her husband's condition. Still, she was torn between wanting to leave and not leaving her work for anyone else. I finally insisted that she go to the hospital. Loyalty to company and clients is second to family, especially in an emergency.

A couple of hours went by and this gem of a gal called to say her husband was in ICU. They didn't know if he was going to make it. She actually asked me if it was all right for her not to come in the next day. I told her to take off whatever time she needed.

Her husband did not have medical insurance so medical bills and time off was going to strap their one income family. Since she was always the giver I thought it was time to reverse roles. I sent an email to the owner of the company, and those I supervise, asking if we could start a fund to help her out.

The owner's immediate response exceeded my hopes. He told me anything we collected he would personally match. I then sent the email to all employees. The e-mail responses were quick and spoke volumes about how this woman's generosity and kindnesses had touched everyone in the office.

"I pledge a days wage," said one. "My husband and I want to donate $200,"said another. E-mail after e-mail had pledges of $25, $50, $75, and more. I sat at my desk with tears flowing as the total continued to rise. I knew these people. Most of them were single parents who were struggling to get by themselves. Yet they dug into their pockets to help a co-worker in need.

I went to the owner of the company and asked, "Are you sure you want to match what we collect?" He looked at me for a moment and said, "I thought I did." He then smiled and asked, "how much?" I gave him the total and he was amazed, but kept his promise.

Elated, I went back to my desk and soon received an email from the owner. He had talked to his partners about what was happening, and they wanted to match what was collected, too.

This woman's husband was hospitalized locally for several weeks and was later transferred to a hospital 350 miles away where he remained for several more weeks. Not long after she returned to work, I had the privilege of calling her aside and giving her the proceeds of our fund. She gasped in surprise. As the tears rolled down our cheeks no words were needed -- the look of gratitude on her face said it all.

Then in a very quiet voice she said, "No one has ever done anything like this for me. I've never worked for a company with such caring people before."

Even in this moment, this humble woman could not see that the caring began with her.

Susan Stevens
Copyright 2000

Home | Meet My Family | Meet My Sister | My Ancestry | My Bio | Growing Up | My Stories My Poems | Others Inspirational Stories | Quick Quips | Kids Korner | Missing Children Angel Moms On Earth | Circle of Friends | Heaven's Angels | Recipes | Midi Mall My ASCII Art | Summr's Graphics | My Office