Part 2 of our new series: What I'm Grateful For From 2020
Unprecedented health risks, new workplace arrangements and the emotional demands of COVID-19 lockdowns have inspired acts of true generosity and compassion this year.
Here, UNE's International Development and Gender Equity in Agriculture Research and Development (GEAReD) team members Dr Rebecca Spence and Janna Hayes share what they are grateful for this December.
Rebecca: My story is not uncommon, but this year it was my work colleagues who gave me the strength to continue when I was on my knees.
When COVID struck I had just returned from the UK, where I was with my sister Verity, who was undergoing chemotherapy for a very aggressive form of breast cancer. My sister and I are very close - we're the only two members of our family left. I was due to visit her two more times, for the whole of March and the whole of June, to support her throughout her treatment in 2020.
The stakes became even higher after coronavirus, because my sister was completely immune-compromised and yet still had to go to hospital each week for treatment. It was a hospital overwhelmed with COVID patients and there was huge potential for infection. Then they stopped the chemo early and decided to do surgery. It was shockingly distressing.
I applied to get special dispensation to travel, which was refused, so I was stuck in Armidale with my sister going under the knife in a COVID-ridden hospital in the UK. That was really hard; I was on high alert every day.
At that point I told my team how badly I was coping and they all pulled together and supported me through every day.
They phoned frequently, bought me coffee, gave me hugs and showed me such extraordinary kindness. Janna let me bawl my eyes out to her. When you have colleagues like that, you feel safe.
It's not the big gestures of kindness that matter; it's the little tiny 'are you OKs?', 'Do you want to have a coffee?' or the film recommendations and invitations to go for a walk.
The leadership programs that we run are all about leading with values. During this time my colleagues lived those values - they demonstrated kindness, respect, loyalty, empathy. It was their kindness that got me through.
So, this December, I am grateful for my health, my team and absolutely everyone who reached out to my sister and myself with love and compassion.
The tables were turned a few short weeks later.
Janna: My father and his wife were en route home to Australia in the wake of COVID-19 when the Australian Government capped international arrivals and they got stuck in Bangkok. Thanks to a chance meeting with an airline executive, they made it back to Australia after a couple of weeks, quarantined in Sydney and then returned to Queensland, but two days later Dad became gravely ill.
The doctors couldn't work out what was wrong. At one stage it didn't look like he would make it another 24 hours and I had to say goodbye to him on the phone. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.
With my entire family in Queensland, my work team stepped in to support me and my husband. There were the phone calls and bottles of wine they sent me; Rebecca checking in with me three times a day to make sure I was OK.
Rebecca and John [Gibson, Janna's boss] sent me links to apply for a border exemption and then encouraged me to write to our local MP's office, which I believe is what made the difference in the exemption being granted. It was so above and beyond what they needed to be doing.
It's been wonderful to know that I am part of a team that has my back, and that my relationship with them is not just about work.
I am grateful for so many things right now that it’s hard to think of just one. I’m very grateful to be secure in my work and to be living a fortunate life in a fortunate part of the world. I’m also feeling grateful for the friendships that I have, because when life gets complicated, messy and busy, it’s easy for friendships to drop away. I’ve felt very lucky that this year I’ve felt mine grow.
And the good news?
Verity is doing fine and, after surgery, Janna's father is recovering well. She is looking forward to celebrating Christmas with him.
Also in this series:
- Part 1: 'I won't go back to what I was doing before'
- Part 3: A new appreciation of the essentials - the people around us
- Part 4: Back in the arms of family after months of separation
- Part 5: Adventure vs the quiet life: Lifelong traveller ‘lucky in lockdown’
- Part 6: Regional life: A gift in the year of lockdown
- Part 7: Meditation, exercise, family ... and wi-fi
- Part 8: 'My optimism has surprised even me'
