i wanted to use the title "even more bad news" for this post as a further iteration to the series of death-related news i got since last week - news that i had earlier framed as "bad news". but i decided otherwise after a quick reflection.
you see, i went to work this morning and it was just after 8.30am when a colleague came to me and broke the news to me: "xxx had just passed away.". my first reaction was "omg", but just as i said that, my mind went "might as well, good that she is at peace now". yes, it was sad that a person that i had known personally had passed away. but given the circumstances of her passing, it was not bad per se but at that very point in time, it was not appropriate to say so.
this colleague had stage 4 cancer since i knew her 2 years back. she had been receiving treatment for quite a while and she had responded relatively well to it. post-chemo, her condition was relatively stable and the cancer showed signs of receding. she suffered a relapse end-last year and doctors gave her a prognosis of 6 months. she lost lots of weight but despite her fraility, she insisted on living life as normally as she could. at one point, she had to be assisted to the toilet at work. about 3 months back, her condition worsened and she was rushed to the a&e where the doctors had to resuscitate and revive her and, in the process, broke a rib. her health deteriorated very quickly after that and it was really tough for her as well as her family.
it was thus in this context that i thought perhaps it was a good thing that her suffering had ended and that she is now at peace. so... yup, that was why i decided not to title this post as "bad". nonetheless, i felt the loss. she was finally laid to rest late afternoon.
may she rest in peace.
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