Cheryl's Story

This blog entry is not so much about me, myself, as it is about my appreciation of where we work. Just for the people who don't know me (which should be many, as I'm one of the Pittsburgh gals) I'll give a bit of a blurb. I'm a 30-year old ex-truckstop waitress biker chick who has traveled to 7 different countries, and is working on the 5th novel for a children's book series that I've been developing. I enjoy exploring nature with my godchildren, playing pool with friends, random road trips to nowhere in particular, and writing awful poetry on the beach. I'm blissfully single and childless, but very close the to the family that I do have. I think that's enough for a blurb, no?

For the past 3 months, I've been struggling with some health issues. There's been a lot of pain, stress, and fear. Lots of tests, doctor's visists, a biopsy that included getting poked in the neck with a big needle (several times!), and the first of 2 different surgeries. There were two seperate times in all this that I was sure that I was dying. The first time, I was sitting in my livingroom, after the first surgery, and I was hit by the most intense pain I have ever experienced. It felt like something in my brain had exploded. All I could do was look, through tears, at my mother and mouth "I love you".



That kind of fear can make you see things a little clearer, appreciate things a little deeper. These past months had me at my physical, emotional, and financial limit, holding on by a thread. But it's been a strong thread, mostly made up of my family, and the few friends that I told. They were wonderful. But the other part of the thread was the company we all work for. All the leads, Lance, Penny, Chris, everyone, was so supportive and understanding. I just wanted to share my experience so everyone can see one more reason how lucky we are. With all that I've been dealing with, all the time I've had to take off from work, it's been wonderful that I haven't had to worry about losing my job, on top of all this. And that is no small thing. In our economy, I am fully aware how replaceable I am, people are clamoring for jobs like ours. And, with all of my current baggage, most any other company would cut me loose as dead weight. But our company looks at its employees and sees "people", each with their own needs, not just walking productivity break-downs. They treat us with a respect, dignity, and patience, that goes above and beyond anything I've ever seen in my 15-year work history.



There's still a rough road ahead for me, at least one more surgery, radiation treatment, and recovery, but with my friends, family, and a job I really care about with people I appreciate, I'm not so scared.

So thank you, everyone that makes up this wonderful company, for making this company what it is, and for allowing me to be a part of it.

Cheryl Christophe