Beyond the strength we have
Understanding and
appreciating frailty after illness or treatment for disease can be a difficult
thing. We strive as much as possible to get back to normalcy even if our
bodies suggest we are nowhere near the capacity for the abilities we once had.
The bodily stresses
of fatigue, lethargy, weakness, or tiredness are signals requiring action from
rest to additional medical attention towards some sort of resolution. The life and
circumstances we live in harshly dictate the reality of there being no pills
for the bills.
Even where we have a
cushion of support to banish the concern of livelihood, we need some sort of
activity to take our minds off infirmity and adversity. Having lived through
this sort of thing, I am quite acquainted with the issues involved.
Escaping illness for
work
Attending the office
this morning, I was met with some rather sad news, the lady who maintains and
cleans the office, with whom I have had a good rapport had passed on. I saw her
barely 3 weeks ago, it was my first time back in the office since before I
commenced radiotherapy in September.
We had a few
conversations, a big catchup from the end of June when she had been in hospital
for an extended period and though she was back at work, she looked rather gaunt
and frail, we were both glad to see each other. It never occurred to me that it
would be the last time.
The shock of learning
of her demise was quite unsettling, someone would suggest she returned to work
much earlier than necessary, but how do you gauge the right time to return to
work if all your life you have espoused dignity in labour? Call some of us old-fashioned,
we’d rather work than get by on handouts or welfare.
The value in everyone
For those who can
game the system to exist in indolence, there can be no praise or adulation. I
guess it belies the flaws in the system. To live a purposeful life is what
matters. Sam, as I remember her was forthright, clear-minded, tough, and engaging.
I remember my father not wanting me to converse with the help, but how could we
be in proximity and not engage?
Sam’s work kept the
office environment clean, conducive, clear, and comfortable. She was as much a
member of our team as anyone else, if not one of the most important of us all
for what she did, for without her contributions, no one would consider the
office a place to work.
As I have always
taken my time to chat to everyone most especially the cleaners, she would
be sorely missed. May her gentle soul rest in peace. Her light has gone but her
memory remains.
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