I did something somewhat similar. A friend left me his air plant for the year he taught in Germany. I proudly returned it to him, saying I’d cared for it carefully through the year. He informed me it was dead as a door nail. Sigh.
When I worked at my Garden Center, my boss at the time was famous for her ability to kill houseplants.
Any time we found a half-dead plant either in the Atrium or out in the nursery yard, it would end up on her desk. ;)
(She had a good sense of humor!)