One Special Veteran

I am not related to this man, but he is very special to me.

I met him just over two years ago. I worked at the front desk, and he would come twice in every morning to see me. The first time, I would hand him our pouch, and the second time, he would bring another pouch back to me. We got to know each other pretty well considering we saw each other for a total of maybe 2-3 minutes each day.

He was a veteran, lost sensation in his lower body later in life. He explained it to me as a "numbness." I was surprised he could still drive a car and live normally. But he told me, if he closed his eyes and stood in one place too long, he would fall over. Because that's what it felt like. He had been to the VA Hospital in Dallas numerous times to see physicians and neurologists, but none could fully diagnose his lack of sensation.

At the time I had met him, he shared with me about his wife and her accident and her progress as she healed. Some days, he told me he had to take care of her, so he wanted to know if he could come earlier/later to shift around his work schedule to be there for her doctor's appointments. Of course, it was never a problem at our office, especially with the advance notice.

I had the privilege of working with Dan for about a year. One day, Dan wasn't picking up our pouch anymore. Someone else came the day after, and another the day after that. The system also changed. We swapped pouches in one visit instead of two. The timing was not nearly as consistent. Shortly after, someone walked in, introduced himself, and told me he was going to be the new courier to pick up our pouch. I asked him if he knew anything about Dan. He said, "Dan had a stroke." Any details after that he didn't know.

I missed Dan every single day I went to work after that. The new courier and I didn't really have a relationship. It may have been that I was bias, but his personality was very different than Dan's. He was rushed, hurried, on his schedule. I asked him to wait once to make sure we were able to get everything in the pouch that day to go out, and his response seemed to have a tinge of annoyance in it. I couldn't tell if he was joking, but if he was, I didn't find it funny.

Dan was gracious, patient, and kind. I loved seeing him twice a day, even if it only totaled 2-3 minutes in all. It's been over a year since I last saw Dan, and I no longer work at the office. I don't even know if Dan is with us anymore. But I wanted to share his story through my eyes, and how even the simplest job as being an office courier can have a great impact. Thank you, Dan, for being a veteran, for being a courier, and for being someone so dear to me. I miss you.