To die suddenly

The last few days I read about the sudden death of my contemporaries, although we don't know each other. But I can identify with them; the 1960s generation.

One was a high-flying corporate figure. Died on-site in a freak construction accident. The other was a well-loved politician who died suddenly after collapsing in a meeting.

No goodbyes. No warning.

Many would say their death was untimely. When was a death "timely"? I guess timely is when the person in very old (would 90s qualify?), has his or her share of good and bad life, sickly for a long time, or he admits and people acknowledge that he or she has contributed to the world and reaped what life got to offer.

I thought of my condition. We all die one day. When I was healthy, death is something we can casually plan for (or not); no urgency. The future stretches for the long term. Now with some of my cells turned into naughty cancer cells, perspectives change.

Cancer patient like me were given a gift. The gift of able to acknowledge our immortality. Friends and relatives are given an opportunity to prepare themselves. I am not saying all cancer cases are terminal. To greet a cancer diagnosis as the end is like a voodoo spell put on most of us. This is a blog topic later! Now I would like to delve on the gift.

Yes, the gift. I do think of death everyday. The gift is also a time period. I was given a window to prepare to exit the world. How well I prepare is how well I use my time.

Nobody can predict how we will die. But there are some scenarios for my death...hehe. But of course, I may not die from cancer or its complications, but in many other ways. I remember asking Dr Selva and Dr Kana how do lung cancer patients die. Dr Kana gave me some scenarios, and Dr Selva said I could also die in a car accident. :)

I am sure many of us wonder how we will die; peacefully? fitfully? joyfully? alone? suddenly? gladly?