In honor of Linda Weidow – a medical advisor at WWBn-E who died Dec. 18, 2017 – family, friends, and colleagues dedicated a room in her name inside their facility, then shared their memories of her with each other.
“Weidow was my husband’s case manager back in 2008,” said Beverly Robayo, administrative specialist, WWBn-E. “She went above and beyond to help us. Even if she was very busy, if I knocked on her door, she would see me and help. She was like a mom to me.”
Weidow dedicated almost a decade of her life to serving wounded, ill and injured Marines, Sailors and their families on MCB Camp Lejeune.
“She was with this battalion since it stood up back at Hospital Point (on MCB Camp Lejeune),” said Navy Lt. Jonathan Jones, chaplain, WWBn-E. “Her heart has always been focused on the recovering service member.”
For those like Weidow who care for numerous individuals over an extended period of time, compassion fatigue, a traumatic stress which can be passed on to caregivers, can almost become unavoidable. Her colleagues say that the room can serve as a constant reminder to remain positive during tough or stressful times.
“Compassion fatigue is a reality here, as taking care of someone (for extended periods of time) can be exhausting,” said Jones. “With the physical reminder of her presence here, we can get a daily reminder to take a step back and continue to battle against compassion fatigue and put the recovering service member first.”
Recovering service members who Weidow helped throughout the years would often keep in contact with her for advice.
“She was very passionate about her job and the (recovering) service members,” said Robavo. “She cared for the (recovering) service members like they were her children. It didn’t matter who you were, if you called her and needed some help she would drop everything she was doing and go out of her way to make sure that they were taken care of on and off the clock.”
“Even though she is no longer with us, she would be happy to see what is going on here today, she did so much for so many people.”
The Linda “Lin” Weidow room is lined with pictures of her and some of the recovering service members she’s helped. Her colleagues say that it will serve as a physical reminder for them to always put the recovering service member first – like she did.