I recently read the article, "Man has stroke at work, spends 5 days alone, dies" that put me in complete shock due to the circumstances it depicted. There is a large difference between getting injured on the job and dying because of seclusion on the job.

David Norton of Portland, Maine, suffered a stroke in his office, being left alone on his floor for five days without anyone noticing his absence until he missed a meeting. He was not in a relationship and transferred to different universities for work, leaving few people to report him missing. Not a single coworker or associate at University of Southern Maine, where his office was located, reported him missing either. It's a shame that no one found David in time to possibly save his life.

All I could think about while reading this article was, how would this incidence have gone if it happened to my family? My mother is a diabetic and sits at a secluded desk, working for eight hours a day. If her sugar dropped too low, she would be rendered helpless and require immediate medical assistance. Luckily, she has a few moments every day of interaction with coworkers.

If it were my mother who became ill at work and passed away because her coworkers, sadly, didn't check on her sporadically, I would be devastated.

I, of course, do not blame David's coworkers, but had they checked on him every now and then, he might have survived his stroke.

Erin Paule

Belleville