The following story briefly mentions a firearm injury. Readers who may be sensitive, please take note.

Imagine getting the phone call no parent wants to receive: the local emergency room calling to say your child was involved in an accident. The shock, disbelief, tears, and sheer terror of what lies ahead for your child and your family follows.

I didn't have to imagine. This happened to me.

My 21-year-old son, Lennon, was in the wrong place at the wrong time and shot through the chest, leaving a bullet lodged in his spinal cord. He was in stable condition but couldn't feel his legs. He spent two weeks in the hospital, where I couldn't even see him in person because of the COVID-19 restrictions at the time, and months at a spinal cord rehabilitation facility.

Enter Cisco. I called my manager late this Tuesday evening and explained what happened. He was caring and truly concerned with the well-being of my son and my family. Despite the hour, he immediately sprang into action and started working for me. He notified his leadership team about my situation, informed my customers that I would be away, and got all my duties transitioned to other team members. Over the following days, I received phone calls of concern and sympathy not only from my team members but also folks at the Senior Vice President level! Everyone was truly supportive and really wanted to be there for me. No one ever spoke about my work, and when I asked, it was always "Taken care of, Michele." Even though I had been with Cisco for less than a year, I felt like I was learning what it really meant to be a Cisconian: support, leadership, employee-centric values, and being part of an 80,000-member family.

The very next morning, I was assigned an advocate to help me navigate Cisco's benefits. I took advantage of critical time off-separate from our paid time off-and theEmployee Assistance Program(EAP). I used EAP for free counseling, financial guidance, and, believe it or not, one-off conversations with my advocate to make me feel better on days when I just needed it. EAP was available 24