[Libby Ritchie]

We had a retired machinist that donated his shop to our team to build in a few years ago. Unfortunately, he had breathing problems, causing panic attacks. He had been in and out of the hospital the weekend before we shipped the robot. As soon as he got back home, he was back out in the shop wanting to help us again. The only nights he missed working with us was when he was in the hospital for two days.

Three days after we shipped the robot, I got a phone call from one of our students, who lived next door to this man. When I got there, I was horrified. He had a panic attack and couldn't deal with not being able to breath well...and he killed himself.

Our kids were mortified, wondering what we could have done to make a differerence or if there was something that we could have said or done to prevent this from happening. This man's wife comforted US and thought that if anything, his love for the kids and the team was something that actually kept him around for a bit longer. We attended the funeral and even said a few words at his funeral. It was by far...the worst thing we've experienced as a team.