December 26^th, 2010

It was in the summer of 2008 that I started working with Brickey Construction. I was engaged, we had a two year old daughter and we had just bought a house three months before. I had been with my previous employer for 5 years and I was a little apprehensive about starting with a new company. I had to make sure that any company that I joined up with shared my ideas about quality and standing behind it. After three conversations with Derek, I felt comfortable about how we would do business and he asked me to come aboard.

That year there was a big tornado and hail storm in Windsor and Miliken and we were very busy. It was my job in the production department to, organize, delegate and insure quality, safety and customer service. We were on pace to do a thousand roofs that year and I didn’t want one complaint; it was easy, because my decisions were backed all through the company.

Not long into my tenor with Brickey, I was diagnosed with colon cancer; it was staged T-4, generally defined as incurable. I went to the hospital with flu-like symptoms, and then after some tests, they rushed me into surgery. It was a long surgery to remove the infection and re-direct my colon. I was in intensive care; I just found out that I had cancer; it was probably the most horrifying and difficult moment in my life. I had three kids; I was engaged; we had just bought a house. How wonderful was it, that at that moment, Derek and Omiah walked in?

Derek and Omiah told me that they were going to stand behind me while I fight this thing. They said that they would continue to pay my salary and that they would find other jobs that I could do if I couldn’t continue to do my current job. There was a massive sigh of relief for how we would stay afloat until I died. Every time we asked a surgeon or Oncologist what the odds of survival were, they would change the subject or give dodging general answers.

They were better than their word. They continued to pay my salary for the remainder of the year. They gave me modified duties that I could handle and were very patient with me. Anyone that’s gone through colo-rectal cancer treatment can tell you how humiliating, demoralizing and debasing it is. I was embarrassed and was having a lot of trouble adjusting to my new body and the chemo and radiation. This was an incredibly difficult time for me and my family and Brickey made it so much more bearable.

I am forever grateful to Brickey, they never once made me feel uncomfortable and helped me to transition into sales. Now, it’s two and a half years later, I’m still alive! Thank you,thank you, thank you!

I remain,

Mike Wanless