Campus Connection

Finding strength in good reads and good colleagues

In August 2024, Jonathan Majak, a library assistant at UW-La Crosse’s Murphy Library, took a week off work, struggling with an unrelenting fever, body aches, and exhaustion. Each time he called in, he assured his colleagues, “I’m sick. I’m tired, but I hope this is the end of it.”  

But with each passing day, his condition deteriorated. 

Then, one morning, still in a haze of illness, Majak experienced a disturbing moment of clarity. Around 5 a.m., he removed his sock, suspecting something was wrong with his foot. To his horror, part of it came off in his hand. That was when he realized this wasn’t a typical fever. He needed to get to the hospital — immediately. 

He packed a bag, grabbed one of his signature bowtie necklaces — a piece of jewelry he wanted to wear if he didn’t make it — and called a cab. 

By the time he arrived at the hospital, his blood sugar was dangerously high, over 500 mg/dL — about five times the normal level. Majak was diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a life-threatening complication of diabetes. As he lay in his hospital bed, he recalls overhearing doctors discussing whether they would need to amputate just his toes or part of his leg. They later told him that if he had waited even a day longer, he could have died. 

While Majak pulled through this health crisis, it changed his outlook on life and the place he worked. 

A community's unseen support

Majak, 42, has deep roots at UW-La Crosse. His connection to the campus dates back to before his birth, when his mother taught children’s literature on campus. Growing up, Majak spent hours swimming at Mitchell Hall’s pool and reading on the steps in Graff Main Hall near his father’s office. Four years ago, he returned to campus as a library assistant at Murphy Library. But it wasn’t until his battle with illness that he truly felt the campus was his home. 

Majak’s hospital visit that day resulted in losing all five toes on his right foot. He spent the next month in the hospital recovering and learning to walk again. During this time, Majak was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from his UWL colleagues. His supervisor, Mike Olson, braved 90-degree weather to deliver flowers to his hospital room. Co-worker Nikki Pegarsch picked up a knee scooter from the hospital, so Majak could move around in his apartment. Another co-worker, Sean Hurtubise, helped him move into a new apartment, carrying boxes when Majak couldn’t. 

Each Friday from October to December, a group of Murphy Library staff would bring lunch to Majak’s apartment, sharing meals and conversation so he wouldn’t have to eat alone. Even colleagues outside of his department stopped by with homemade food and companionship, making the long nights in the hospital and at home a bit more bearable. 

“I think it highlights what the environment is like on our campus,” Majak reflects. “UWL is my home. I’ve only been here four years, but these people really stepped up out of sheer kindness.” 

When he returned to work in December 2024, his colleagues surprised him by wearing bow ties — his signature fashion accessory — in his honor. 

Finding comfort in books

Majak’s role at the library has always revolved around his love of reading, and in recent years he has used his speedy reading ability to promote the library’s leisure reading section. Leading up to summer 2024, he read 101 books in just 106 days and reviewed them all on the Murphy Library Fine Print Blog. Prior to his hospitalization, Majak had decided he would continue the project, reading and reviewing 50 more books for “volume 2.” He hadn’t anticipated that his book review project would happen while lying in a hospital bed and take on such a personal theme, shaped by his life-threatening illness. 

One of the books he read, “Prophet Song” by Paul Lynch struck a chord with him. The book’s line, “The end of the world is always a local event…” hit Majak as he reflected on his recent experience. He recalled after his amputation when he was driven back to Emplify Health for a follow up appointment. Passing by the UWL campus, he noticed the hustle and bustle of everyday life — people walking, talking, and going about their business. Meanwhile, his own world had nearly ended. 

“That quote really resonated with me,” Majak says. “There is no one universal end to the world. It happens in small moments, in different places, all the time.” 

Another novel, “The Committed” by Viet Thanh Nguyen also left a lasting impact. In it, characters pray to God to understand why they are dying, and the universe’s response is simply, “Why not?” While this may discomfort some, Majak found a sense of peace in the idea that life unfolds naturally, without the need for reason. 

“We are so minimal in this world. The world will keep spinning whether we are here or not,” he says. “That might terrify some, but it comforts me. This misery I was feeling was just as fleeting as happiness.” 

Though his reading project took on a new dimension after his illness, the underlying goal remained the same: to encourage others to explore the library’s leisure reading section and challenge the misconception that libraries are intimidating or elitist. The staff at Murphy Library had provided him an immense sense of comfort during a difficult time. 

“The goal is to get people to see that Murphy Library is not a scary place,” Majak explains. “Sometimes people think those who work at libraries are stuffy, but that’s obviously not true. The library is a fun place to explore with good people who want to help.”