In the past month, I’ve been through a significant amount of changes to my life. Some I chose, some I did not.

Since the beginning of March, I have given up an opportunity at one job to start another opportunity at another job. I have flown back to Houston to visit family and friends. I have said my hellos to new people and goodbyes to others. In just another day, I shall say my goodbye to one more.


I began helping out at a clinic back in Houston starting in spring of 2000. I was a junior in college at the time and had a lot of computer networking experience. Joe, the network administrator and father of the clinic’s owners (both his son and daughter-in-law), asked me to come along and help him with the computer network. It was then that I slowly began my relationship with the clinic.

For the next 6 years, I would always go back to work for them whenever I was in town. Over the summer, Christmas break, on vacation from LA… anytime I was back, I’d always enjoy helping out and lending a hand. After I graduated from college, I spent part of my next year working part and full-time for the clinic under Joe’s supervision.

This was a wonderful relationship for me since I could basically come and go as I pleased, but I was always welcome to help out since there was always something else to do. Joe ran the network by himself when I was not around, which is such a huge task to take on by himself. So it was always a pleasure for me to go back and see what I could do to improve what already existed and make sure the network was pretty solid.

Joe’s family became like a 2nd family to me. I broke bread every morning with him and his wife when I worked for them; our relationship was very casual and always a pleasure. When I visited Houston, I would sometimes stay with them in a spare bedroom. I had no hesitations or reservations in going to visit or going to help out.

This past December, Joe started to lose some weight. It was coincidental but welcomed because at the time he started on a diet so there was nothing to suspect. His weight, however, dropped a little faster than usual and that became a warning sign that probably needed some attention.

Just a few weeks into January, he had his blood tested and they found out he had a football sized tumor on his kidney. Upon further inspection and more tests, it was also found that there were two small tumors on the top of the lungs. And, this afternoon I found out there were possibly even more throughout the body.

Joe had surgery to remove the kidney, but his health deteriorated because of an abscess that formed in the following weeks where his kidney was removed. They weren’t sure of what the reason this formed but it prevented him from recovering more quickly.

I think the worst part about this whole situation, aside from the cancer itself, was the circumstances. Joe’s mother is still alive and well at a nice ripe old age. Obviously, Joe expected that this was the pattern his life would follow, but with this sudden and unexpected tumor attacking his body it was as if he was too late to put up a big fight.

What’s worse is that the cancer didn’t kill him directly. His body lost so much strength and weight that his heart gave out from a blood clot. It was a huge battle to fight, having almost no strength left and then fighting to stay alive, but the heart attack took him away.

When I was visiting Houston just a week ago, I was really glad that I went in to visit him, even for the little bit that I did. And most of what we did was talk business about the clinic just for a couple of minutes. Sometimes you wish you had more time or had done something differently, but I wasn’t given much of an option to do anything about it. I’m just glad I had what I did.

Since I now am the one person who knows the most about that computer network, part of me wonders if I should go back. However I know they will eventually be in good hands when they hire someone else to handle everything and I will be there either by phone or in person to teach to and learn from this next person.

I know that great things are happening for me this year and I’m excited, but it’s times like these when you know that every moment and every breath should be lived with a smile and happiness in your heart. This year is probably going to be difficult for me in other ways as well, but I shall keep steady knowing that I’m doing what I believe in for myself.

You never forget the way people make you feel. Enjoy the time you have and give the love you would want to feel from others.