Hey guys. I know this is probably borderline traitorous of me, but my very first blog of the summer is going to be quite a bit of a downer. Trust me, I'm not thrilled about it either.
Last summer, at my job, I was assigned to work double shifts every Saturday. Yeah, it basically sucked. I mean, I eventually got used to it, but I still would've rather not had to deal with them.
Really, though, the only reason I became okay with them was because I was not the only person who had to work them. Drew and I were hired at about the same time and had become close acquaintances.
We also worked a shift together on Wednesday nights at the south entrance, where it was just the two of us. Between the double shifts every week and these ones just to ourselves every Wednesday, we became pretty close friends. He became one of my favorite coworkers, if not my absolute favorite.
After the summer, we didn't really work any shifts together, except for when we'd pick others' up on occasion. But this almost didn't affect our friendship at all because it made our reunions all the sweeter (at least on my end). And besides, we had inservice meetings where we saw each other, and we'd often walk out of the building together, just catching up with each other. I truly began to value him as a real friend, not just a "Well, we're pretty close as coworkers, so I guess we're friends" type of mentality. (Again, I don't know how much of this he returned. Keep that in mind.)
Thankfully, with the summer season coming around again, I knew that schedules would be changing a lot, and it was very likely that we would finally have shifts together again. After the inservice meeting where we received our summer schedules, we talked about them with each other. We were thrilled to discover that we'd work together on Mondays, and then see each other for a few moments on Wednesdays and Fridays (since one of us would be at the south entrance while the other would be at the front). I made a comment about how we'd finally be really working with each other again, and he responded with an enthusiastic "Finally!" He could not have replied better.
So, the summer started, and we even got to work a couple south entrance shifts together, since some of them needed to be picked up. It almost felt like our friendship hadn't been put on hold at all. Everything was back to the way it was--helping each other out, conversing about things outside of work, teasing each other, watching random (and often weird) videos when it wasn't busy.
During one of these south entrance shifts (it was a Thursday), after we'd been talking for awhile, I mentioned that I considered him to be my favorite coworker. Later, after watching a set of particularly strange YouTube videos, Drew laughed and said, "See, Odessa, this is why you're my favorite. There is no one else here I could show things like this to."
We continued to crack jokes together. For example, Drew had bad allergies one day, but I wasn't affected at all (I usually take one sniff of pollinated air and nearly die). He wondered why I wasn't sniffling too. I said, "Probably righteousness." Indignantly, he said, "Righte--shut up!" We both laughed pretty hard. That's just how our bantering went. We knew it was all in joking.
Over most of the rest of June, we talked and laughed during our shifts, just enjoying working together like we always had.
Then it shattered right before my eyes, and I didn't even know it until it was too late.
It was two weeks ago on Monday, June 26. I came into work, as usual. Drew was there, as usual. He seemed a little lackluster and I asked if he was all right. He said that he was okay, but he had a virus and a fever. I encouraged him to sit back and let us handle the job, but he assured me that he was fine, that he'd been to the doctor's and everything and they said he'd be okay.
On Wednesday, I only saw him for a few brief moments, as I was heading up to the south entrance. I asked him if he was doing okay, and he said he was feeling better.
Then, on Thursday, while counting the tills with my coworker and friend Kaylee, another coworker came rushing back and told her that Drew's dad was on the line and that they were taking him to the hospital. His symptoms had worsened, so they decided to take him in. We were worried about him, but we figured, "Well, his fever just probably got too high. It's nothing to worry about."
It turns out, it was everything to worry about.
I don't want to post invalid information, so I won't go into detail on what the medical condition is. If you're interested, Drew's dad has a blog where he posted an update (go to jeffreyolsen.com and go to the blog page).
I'm posting my feelings on this issue. There are many. With each new event, I feel my stomach sink deeper and a cold hand grab at my heart. He's in a coma, and it sounds to me like he'll either fully recover or die.
And I am so scared that it's going to be the latter.
I've cried myself to sleep over this. Sometimes, I feel physically sick because I'm so worried about him. One of my best friends in the world could literally die. I am not prepared for that--not one bit.
But, no matter what happens, I'm going to have faith. I'm going to have faith in my Heavenly Father and His plan. I know--I know--that He doesn't just take people from our lives for the fun of it. If it's Drew's time to go, then there is a reason for it. But if there's more for him to do here on earth, He will heal him and provide him with the means to carry out his work, just like He's done for all of us.
This knowledge doesn't make it easy at all. But it makes it bearable. Knowing that, no matter what, Drew is going to be okay and taken care of--whether he lives or dies--means more to me than anything. I just want him to be all right. I want him to recover. I want everything to go back to the way it was, where we lived in a blissful ignorance of the pain that would soon become nearly overwhelming.
I love Drew, and I'm praying fervently that he recovers. I'm praying for his family, because I cannot even fathom what they must be going through. If it's this hard for me, it must be at least a thousand times more so for them. I'm praying for his friends, who are worried sick for him.
I'll keep you updated as much as I can.
I hope your day is as awesome as you.
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