![]() This is a man with an incredible career, with incredible intellect and suddenly everything is taken away from him. ![]() The second point that I briefly alluded to was that life can change in an instant. These are things that we often overlook and just take for granted that tomorrow is going to be fine.Īt the end of the day when you go to bed, take a few seconds and think about all the things you have in this moment and be appreciative of that. Kalanithi was on a trajectory to reach great heights and become an excellent doctor and suddenly life changes and he’s no longer worried about what’s going to happen with his medical career, but more am I going to be able to live tomorrow? You no longer have this vision of twenty, forty years from now, you’re living in the moment more. However, after being informed that he had stage four lung cancer, life completely changes. ![]() In Kalanithi’s case, he had all these grand plans of what his life would be like after he finishes his residency, what he would be doing for the next twenty years. What Kalanithi really taught me through this book is that you shouldn’t get ahead of yourself.Įmbrace the moment we’re in right now and learn to appreciate what we have. This is an extremely powerful book and I want to share some important points with you, so let’s get started! ![]() The journey he takes you on, gives you insight into his life. Kalanithi talks about the life prior to and after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Kalanithi was a Yale med school graduate finishing his journey of becoming a neurosurgeon when he was delivered the tragic news that he had stage four lung cancer. My name is Maria and today we’re talking about “When Breath Becomes Air” by Dr. From accepting his fate to slipping into depression at not being able to pursue his career to adamantly cherry-picking duties at hospital, if only to be closer to his first love to getting angry at his lost mobility and scarred vitality, to finally, plunging into his surgeon duties with a vengeance, agonisingly shoving his deteriorating body aside, Paul exhibits an incredibly hungry mind and a dedicated soul.By Paul Kalanithi (Author), Abraham Verghese (Foreword) And along with them, his case, with aberration, wherein the cycle was embraced in reverse order by him. Somewhere around page 161, he talks about the much quoted five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. The impact of this book is not in his sage-like, detached, professional treatment of his grave illness but in its earnestness earnestness to detect vulnerabilities and find a path through them that eventually stand meaningful. He wrote most parts of this book during his last months in debilitating pain and treatment but he couldn’t have sounded more balanced and calm. ![]() In little manifestations and significant decisions, in careless words and sombre confessions, we continue to live, long after we are gone. It is a reminder of the transience of life yet an even louder reminder of longevity of deeds and memories. A doctor in mind and a fighter in spirit, he battles this uninvited and lethal intruder with immense mettle and equanimity, gaining much wisdom during the course and eventually, surrendering to its inevitability and in a strange, serene way, to its affability. Standing at the threshold of seeing his dream come true, one built on a decade and half of relentless academic pursuits and tireless hours at residency, he witnesses a cruel twist of destiny he is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer just a few months before his scheduled graduation. Paul Kalanithi was a neurosurgeon by profession and passion at Stanford University School of Medicine. No part of my being accepts death they all adjust the lens to view it as a part of life. Through moist eyes, even as I grapple to make ‘sense’ of what it means to lose a dear one, I, ironically, already know that very ‘sense’ to be ephemeral. The silence that suddenly parts to let memories seep in and cloud my vision, fill the air. The last page has been turned but the numbness prevails. ![]()
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