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Ed’s Last Chance
One month before Christmas, Ed sat in disbelief listening to a doctor's shocking news. At the age of 49, he had colon cancer. The words struck him over and over like a baseball bat: “The cancer is very advanced. I've seen other cases like this and it's highly unlikely that your body can fight it more than six months. We'll do all we can to help you, but you had better get your affairs in order. I'm so sorry.”
Driving home through the blinding tears, the disbelief turned to shock. As one of Canada's most successful oil executives, Ed was accustomed to controlling things. With a spacious office high atop a Calgary skyscraper, everything he could ask for was waiting to be summoned. He wondered how he would tell his wife. They'd hardly spoken all week. All year, for that matter.
As he cradled her in his arms and told her the diagnosis, she broke down and wept. After a sleepless night, Ed called the office. For the first time in 17 years, he would not be at work. His work meant everything to him, what would he do without it? He could have retired long ago, but it kept him from facing a string of broken relationships.