Something To Be Thankful For
This Thanksgiving, when I reunited with my parents, I didn’t expect to hear a story that reaffirmed something I already know - that my mom is an incredible ally for people living with mental illness - while also warming my heart at the thought of others doing the same.
As we took a walk in the not-so-brisk temperatures down South, she told me about something that had happened at work a few days before. One of her coworkers, Sandy (name changed for privacy), who is divorced and lives alone, was scheduled to work the night before Thanksgiving and didn’t show up. After several calls, three people - Mom, Mom’s boss J, and her boss A, started to get worried.
J stayed past the end of her shift to make sure there was someone at work, and she reached out to Mom to see if she could check in on Sandy because she lives in the same neighborhood. J and A kept reaching out to Sandy and the emergency contact she provided when she was hired.
In the meantime, Mom and Dad both went to Sandy’s house. They saw a silhouette moving around inside, but even after a while of calling her name and knocking on the door, they didn’t have any luck. They called J back and updated her; J and A initiated a 911 wellness check and then asked Mom to cover the night shift. Mom volunteered to do so and started to drive to work, about fifteen minutes away.
When she was almost there, J called her back, saying that she’d gotten in touch with Sandy. Sandy told J that she thought she was off that night and she was on her way; in response, J cancelled the wellness check and told Mom to go home.
But before Mom could get home, J called again. She said that Sandy had called, after pulling over on the side of the road, because she was crying so hard. She said she couldn’t go to work that night, and Mom turned right around to relieve J.
When she got to work, Mom found J on the phone with Sandy, who was crying so hysterically that she could hear her clearly even though J didn’t have her on speakerphone. Shortly after, Mom took over at work, J left, and the workplace stayed open when they thought they would have to close early.
In the end, A didn’t mind her employees being distracted, and didn’t hesitate to step in and help herself. J didn’t mind staying past the end of her shift, even when she had to be at the airport to pick up her daughter later that night. Mom didn’t mind all the driving or checking up on Sandy at her home. All three of them acted out of pure love and concern for someone on their team who was going through something, even during a busy holiday season when there was so much else going on.
When I heard this story, I was so proud of Mom and her coworkers for stepping up. As Mom said, “it was amazing to be part of a team where they were treating somebody with a depressive episode as seriously as a heart attack.” I wish this kind of story wasn’t so unusual to hear, but I am so thankful to hear it and know that there are people out there who care. There are so many people who find holidays hard, and knowing that there are communities out there who truly care means so much to me as I think about what I’m thankful for.
Ellie, a writer in the Chicago area, was diagnosed with OCD at age 3. She hopes to educate others about her condition and end the stigma against mental illness.