Changing the Course of Life
A life without regrets.
‘If you want something done right, you need to do it yourself’, this was what Ramesh was thinking while he was sitting anxiously- his knees were shaking- in the hospital’s corridor, waiting for his results. These results were going to give more detail about a brain tumour that was detected. The results were going to determine the stage of the tumour and whether or not treatment was possible.
Ramesh had always been a smart, capable and a deserving person. He was hardworking and used his full potential in everything he ever did. Ramesh worked as a software manager in a company. He had only one flaw in him, that was of him being shy. He was always reluctant to take up the opportunities that came to him, although he had more than the capability to take up the task. He was not bold and believed that ‘whatever he deserves will come to him automatically by the grace of God; what he only needed to do was to work hard.’
Due to his hardworking and shy nature, he quietly accepted what everyone else told him to do. Ramesh and his colleagues used to work on different projects and Ramesh being the kind human being did most of the work from his part. Doing all this work for his colleagues and from his side, he forgot how to enjoy life. He hardly used to spend time with his parents and forgot about all the dreams he had set for himself in his youth.
With time Ramesh had got several severe headaches which he at first, thought were normal. After a few times of the headache repeating, he even started to have blackouts. He knew that there was something wrong and he went to visit the doctor. After a regular checkup, the doctor advised him to get a CT scan. After seeing the results, the doctor informed Ramesh that they had detected a tumour. When Ramesh heard that, horror spread across his face. He was told by the doctor that in one or two weeks, his detailed report would come telling about the severity of the tumour and whether treatment is possible or not.
Ramesh got his result and found out that they detected the tumour very late. The doctor told him that they could try their best to save him- even though the outcome would be uncertain. Ramesh had one week before the surgery, which would decide the result of his life. It was Ramesh’s birthday that day, and Ramesh had taken a rebirth when he got the thought that, if he wanted something done right, he had to do it himself.
None of the colleagues of Ramesh had come to ask about his health even after hearing about his illness; this was when Ramesh knew that he had to live this one week better than how he had lived the last twenty years. He had realised that there were far more important things he needed to focus on other than his work.
Ramesh discovered a bucket list which he had written as a child, and had forgotten for all these years. He fulfilled all his wishes- Eating to his fullest, spending as much time as he wanted to with his parents, and being a tension-free person for this one week.
He was neither sad nor did he spread sadness regarding the topic of his illness. He told his parents and all the people around him how much they meant to him. Everything he did in this one week came purely out of his heart. He forgot about what other people would think about him and did only what he wished. In the end, Ramesh lived a better life in the duration of this one week than he had lived since his adulthood.
The time of his surgery had arrived, Ramesh was sitting in the hospital corridor, satisfied with what he had accomplished in this one week. He was waiting for his surgery with a smile on his face; he had no anxiety and felt stronger than he had ever been. When the doctors called Ramesh for the surgery, he went calmly into the operation theatre without thinking about what was going to happen next-
After all, Ramesh was now free from all the regrets of life. To him, the outcome of the operation did not matter anymore.
