Too Early...

My cousin passed away yesterday. He is much older than me and was going to turn 60 in August. He was looking forward to his retired life and had lot of plans to spend his time traveling, spiritual pursuit, spending time with family, his new grandson and a lot more. He became a grandfather three months ago. So what happened that put a break to all his plans?

It was cancer. He went to the doctor two months ago because he had numbness in his feet. The doctors did the usual prelim tests, blood work, x-ray, scan etc and found that he had a growth near his spine that was putting pressure on his nerves. They did a surgery to remove the lump and send the tissue for biopsy. Came back as sarcoma, the virulent form. The cancer had already spread and showed its presence in almost all vital organs including lungs. He was in the hospital for a total of 62 days deteriorating each passing day and finally slipped away in the ICU last night. He could not recognize his own daughter the last time she came to see him. She was heart broken.

It was a typical case of negligence. He had chosen to ignore the initial symptoms like pain around the neck and general tiredness. He attibuted those to his age and his long commute to work.

They whole thing seem so sudden. He went to the doctor two months ago with complaints and never came back home. It just got worse and worse. His son is preparing for his finals and his exams starts in two days.

My cousin told my mom when she visited him the plans he had when he retired. She is still to come in terms with her nephew passing away.

Life seems so unpredictable. The saying 'live every day as though its your last day' makes so much sense in this case. He had worked hard all his life providing for his family, raising his kids and was looking forward to a relaxed retired life. He never made it to the finishing line.

It was just too early for him to say goodbye.