Living with temporary pain is extremely difficult, but living with pain for a number of years must be unimaginable torture. I know about living with temporary pain as a result of my recent surgery, but I’ve been extremely lucky to have been relatively pain-free for my entire life. Janet lived with the pain of a terminal illness for over a decade.

I didn’t know about her illness or the pain she was suffering until very late in her life when her work performance suddenly didn’t live up to the lofty standards she had set for herself for some ten years. Only when I saw her work needing to be corrected did I come to find out that something was wrong with her.

She worked through the physical and psychological pain of knowing she had a terminal illness without complaint or excuses. For ten years she did excellent work and met her deadlines.

There were many times when Janet would ask multiple questions, often repeating her questions in a subsequent call to make sure she understood what was expected of her. It was our running joke, intending no harm, that when she called it was better that the same person talk to her in order to give her the same answer to her repeat questions.

We wanted to be consistent, and so did Janet when she submitted her work to us for review. She often received our highest praise for accuracy and timeliness. More importantly, she was a pleasure to work with.

Late in her life, before finally succumbing to her illness, I tried to help her train her newest protege who was to help her do her work. In pain, Janet came to work and stayed as long as she was physically able. Even in pain, knowing she was dying, she wanted her work and her agency to look good.

I don’t see that kind of dedication as often today, but Janet was from the “old school”; she wanted to make sure her work and reputation remained intact. Janet, don’t worry, your reputation is still impeccable.

It’s another lesson learned. Being dedicated to the things you value most in life may be “old school” and painful to some, but not to Janet who was dedicated to her work and proud of it, even though her work didn’t define her.

What defined Janet was her pleasant attitude, courage, inquiring nature, dedication to things she loved, and lack of complaint or excuses. Great qualities for all of us to consider adopting, whether we’re living in constant pain or living pain-free.

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