Life is short

I didn’t want to start the first entry of the year on a sad note but I cant help feeling a little overwhelmed by the news I heard this morning.

Today is my first day back in the office after being away for two weeks. While clearing my voicemails, one of them caught my attention.

My secretary had forwarded a voicemail from a Senior 1 in the group. We don’t usually receive any mass voicemail from anybody that is below the partner level. So of course, I took a particular interest in the voicemail.

What I heard gave me a shock of my life!

“Hi everyone, I guessed all of you should know by now that I have been diagnosed with cancer…….”

I couldn’t believe what I heard! My colleague is only 27 years old.

He started with the company slightly more than a year ago and I have been very close to him ever since, working on several big projects together. He has since become more of a friend rather than just a colleague.

Through his voicemail, I could sense that he had difficulty breathing but at the same time was trying to stay as positive as possible. At this time, he is not sure what type of lymphoma he has and at which stage. The doctors are doing more tests to find out more.

Just last month we were still discussing about the bad economy and the possibility of being layoff. Now, these are the least of his worries.

I can’t imagine how his family is taking it especially his wife who is all alone here in the US. He got married a few months after he joined the company and was even planning to have babies this year.

How things changed in just a few days!

I certainly hope that whatever tumor he has in his stomach is benign and that he will pull through this difficult stage of his life.