As I’ve mentioned before, Tom is incredibly lucky to work for his company. He has the most wonderful group of coworkers that have been some of his biggest cheerleaders and have continually offered their support to both Tom & I – not to mention they are avid blog readers! They are truly a special group of people that I’m sure many would hope to experience in their careers. Tonight was their Christmas party and they invited Tom – and I – to come if he was feeling up to it and take part in the annual celebration and Secret Santa exchange. Tom was hoping he would feel well enough because he truly misses his coworkers and all of the fun banter in the office. Some days this diagnosis can feel incredibly isolating, so he was eager to see everyone and catch up on everything he has been missing. To be fair to our day – to – day experiences, Tom was a little apprehensive to attend because of his hair loss, but as I had assured him, his coworkers thought nothing of it and agreed with me that he is rocking the bald head look.
As we have coped through this entire diagnosis there are certain things that put in perspective the amount of time that has passed. The VP that Tom works under is retiring at the end of this year and when he returns to work she will already be gone. On September 15, when he left work, it never even crossed his mind that it would be the last day he would work with her. Truly, you never know what can happen or how quickly life can change. The day Tom was diagnosed, I had called his VP to fill her in on what was happening, from the moment I told her what was going on she assured me that she, and Tom’s boss, would do everything in their power to help us and support us through this entire endeavor. Tom has learned an incredible amount from her and is very sad to see her go, for him it will be a bit strange to go back to work (though he is eager to do so), but especially weird for her not to be there. We wish her all the best and fully intend on celebrating with her when Tom is officially cancer free :)
Nights like tonight are reminders that despite an incredibly crummy situation, we are surrounded by so much love and support. I know I’ve said it before, but there are days where it is very overwhelming – in the best way possible. Tom’s boss gave a toast tonight and was commenting on friends, family and how much time coworkers spend together – sometimes more than with their own families. I would say Tom is incredibly grateful to have such an amazing work family. More to come…