I was excited to interview for a position at a nearby cancer center as part of my graduate program in social work. But my academic advisor had other plans. She sent me to an interview at a major medical center downtown\u2014an hour-and-a-half away! How would I have enough time for my family and classes with a commute that long? It seemed pointless to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust check it out,\u201d she said. So I braved the traffic\u2014which was worse than I expected\u2014parked and waited in the lobby.<\/p>\n
My mind wandered to the only time I\u2019d ever been to that hospital. It was several years before when my brother Woody\u2019s fianc\u00e9e, Stacey, underwent two kidney transplants. She\u2019d been so strong. Through her surgeries and dialysis, Woody stayed by her side.<\/p>\n
Two years after her last transplant, Woody died unexpectedly. We were all heartbroken. I rarely saw Stacey after that.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeg,\u201d I heard someone say. I thought maybe it was the receptionist calling me for my interview. I looked up.<\/p>\n
It was Stacey!<\/p>\n
I flung my arms around her. \u201cIt\u2019s so good to see you!\u201d I said. <\/p>\n
Stacey explained she was there for a checkup\u2014doctors feared her body was rejecting her kidney. I could tell she was hurting but she was as brave as I\u2019d remembered. We embraced once more before I left. Stacey smiled broadly. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing to see you,\u201d she said. \u201cGood luck on your interview.\u201d<\/p>\n
The position turned out not to be what I was looking for. But back home, I got an email from Stacey. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want you to know that I think about Woody every day,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd when I came to the hospital today it really hit me that he wouldn\u2019t be by my side. I think Woody knew that too. That\u2019s why he sent me his little sister.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was excited to interview for a position at a nearby cancer center as part of my graduate program in social work. But my academic advisor had other plans. She sent me to an interview at a major medical center downtown\u2014an hour-and-a-half away! How would I have enough time for my family and classes with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":26492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[2050],"class_list":["post-15589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gods-grace"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n