We All Need Sombody …
“We all need somebody to lean on.” Bill Withers
We gathered together in the small church this past Saturday to commemorate the ‘unthinkable.” There in the front of the church was a casket containing the body of our physician colleague and friend, Corey Sayers, who at 28 years of age died well before what we wanted to believe was “his time.” And from a cancer, sclerosing epithelioid sarcoma, that one year ago none of us had even heard of.
This was the same man who lit up a room with his presence, who was admired by his friends and adored by his patients, and who had been blessed with the “superpower” of being a gatherer of people. And he continued to use this superpower as much as his strength would allow to his last days with us, bringing people together not only to help and support him, but more importantly to him, to connect with each other.
During the service, a heartwarming video overflowing with smiles attempted to capture the essence of the life of this radiant soul, followed by the playing of the classic Bill Wither’s song, “Lean on Me, “ chosen because it represented so much of what Corey stood for, and a truth he had to live out more than ever in the last year of his life … “Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow … Lean on me, when you’re not strong …. We all need somebody to lean on.” Even as we celebrated this all too brief and beautiful life, there was no way to hide our collective broken heart.
And all this was happening as we approach the peak of not just “another surge,” but one that is stretching both resources and emotions to the breaking point. In connecting with colleagues from across the country over the past few days, it’s quite obvious that we’re all carrying an individual and collective load of pain and sorrow right now that is becoming too much to bear for many. So if you’re feeling this, please know you are not alone. If you’re not feeling that burden right now, you can bet that someone around you is, and even if they’re not saying so, they could sure use a hand.
It is more important now than ever to not try and “soldier” through this alone. None of us has ever been here before. So asking for help to try and process these surreal times is not weakness, but rather wisdom and sanity. That’s the entire purpose of PeerRxMed – for us to explicitly and deliberately connect with each other in good times and bad. To share the journey and ensure no one is trying to care alone.
Bill Withers ended his song with this invitation: “If there is a load you have to bear that you can't carry, I'm right up the road, I'll share your load, if you just call me (call me) ….” Our colleague Corey Sayers lived this out daily and leaves it for us as a legacy. His life was a living demonstration that sharing the load together makes for a much more fulfilling and meaningful life, and also one that’s a whole lot more fun. Who are the “somebodies” in your life who you can do some “leanin’ on”? Don’t wait … for their sake, and yours ….