A Perspective from Work

I was Thej’s supervisor and team lead in Qualcomm for a long period of time – starting well before his illness was discovered and continuing almost till he left Qualcomm to focus on his medical care. I had an unique perspective into the manner in which Thej found out about his illness and the manner in which he handled himself after that and I want to recount some of that here.
One afternoon he came to my office and mentioned how he had been having a persistent pain in his neck and wondered whether I would recommend a visit to my chiropractor (he knew from previous discussions that I had had good results from my chiropractor visits). I encouraged him to visit her and called her office and got him an early appointment. After the chiropractor examined him, she knew immediately that there more to the problem than something muscular or skeletal. She recommended a visit to a neurologist. A few days later, Thej went to the neurologist and got his test results and came to my office to convey the news. Needless to say, I was stunned and shocked beyond belief. At that point he was yet to inform his wife and indeed was unsure about how to break the news to her. I encouraged him to not delay anymore and inform her right away. He also told me how he had arranged for one his family members to break the news to his parents.

From that day onwards, Thej was a study in personal courage and strength. Twice he had to go on leaves of absence to focus on his treatment. We kept the knowledge of his illness on a strictly need-to-know basis at work and the only way many of his co-workers came to know of his illness was when they saw the change in his physical appearance after his treatment. You could never tell from his demeanor or his attitude that anything was wrong. He was always the same gentle person, unfailingly polite and courteous – always greeting you with a smile. I personally drew a lot of inspiration from him. It was very hard to see this happening to Thej – it all seemed and it seems so unfair.

As his supervisor and lead, I had developed a very close relationship with him at work. At times I had to give him negative feedback, but he was never resentful about it and always took the advice to heart. He had a calmness and maturity about him that would carry over to the people he worked with – working with him was always a rewarding experience.

I will remember Thej as an unique individual and somebody that it was my great fortune to work with. The manner in which he conducted himself before and after discovering his illness is an example that I would like to learn from.

-Rajesh Kumar