Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A professor I have worked pretty closely with has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. It has been devastating for his family and heartbreaking for his students.

What made him extraordinary was not only that he was a phenomenal rising star. He had only recently collected the highest honours for young researchers at the White House. We truly admired him for his inspiring personality - as someone put it, "He always has a smile and a kind word for everyone." It is very hard to find someone who is exceptionally intelligent and also a wonderful , humble human being.

My professor's family of four (beautiful, sweet children all under ten) and lovely,generous-spirited wife (who is expecting the fifth), along with their deep spiritual faith has been a continual source of joy for him. All this made us, his students, even more shocked and heartbroken when we found out his cancer was terminal and has spread to several parts of his body.

I was to go to my professor's house to present my thesis, since I needed the signature urgently and he would not be able to make it to the university because of the intense effects of chemotherapy. I decided that we needed him to know how much we admired him and how we are all praying for his recovery. Most of his students, although well meaning, are not very vocal about expressing their emotions (engineering nerds!).

I bought him a simple card which read, "Healing Thoughts and Wishes Coming your way."  I met all the students he worked closely with and got them to sign on it. Each student in his laboratory signed and also added a message. "We love you so much", " We miss you! We need you back here - get well soon", " Please come back" ," Thank you for being such an inspiring teacher. I hope you recover soon"... These were some of the messages that were written.  Most of the students were really glad we were doing this and said it was a very good idea to give it to him.

He is still undergoing intense treatment, and along with his family is trying his best to stay optimistic and hopeful. I didn't see a trace of self pity or grief when I met him last week. Instead, he paid attention to every word of my presentation and asked me several perceptive questions related to my work.I was amazed at how much he gave  his 100% on that day inspite of being in pain because of chemotherapy and not knowing if he even has another month to live. "I am trying to focus on staying positive, hoping to be back this summer", he said.

Needless to say,  I saw an expression of joy and hope on his face as he opened the card. He said he was truly touched to see this message from the students he worked closely with. 

There is one thing I learnt from last week: It is so important to tell people how much they mean to us and what an inspiration they are before it becomes too late. 

My professor, in his end-stage cancer, inspite of being too sick to teach classes, has managed to continue being a fabulous teacher, a true role model for his students.