A professor I have worked pretty closely with has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. It has been devastating  for his family and heartbreaking for his students. What made him extraordinary was not only that he was a rising star. He had only recently collected the highest honors for young researchers at the White House. We truly admire him--as someone put it, 'He always has a smile and a kind word for everyone." It is very hard to find someone who is extremely intelligent should be so nice a human being. I decided that we needed him to know _ and also how we are all praying for his recovery. I bought him a simple card which read, 'Healing thoughts and wishes coming your way." I met all the students he worked closely with and got them to sign on it. Each student in his laboratory signed and also added a message. 'We love you so much", 'We miss you! We need you back here--recover soon"... These were some of the messages that were written. Most of the students were really glad we were doing this and said it was a very good idea to give it to him. He is still undergoing intense treatment, and along with his family is trying his best to stay optimistic and hopeful. I didn't see a trace of self-pity or sadness when I met him last week. Instead, he paid attention to every word of my presentation and asked me several questions related to my work. I was amazed at how much he gave his 100% on that day in spite of being in pain because of chemotherapy( ),he did not know if he even had another month to live. "I am trying to focus on staying positive, hoping to be back this summer," he said. Needless to say, I saw an expression of joy and hope on his face as he opened the card. He said he was truly touched to see the messages from the students he worked closely with. There is one thing I learnt from last week: It is so important to tell people how much they mean to us and what an inspiration they are before it becomes too late. My professor, in spite of being too sick to teach classes, has managed to continue being a great teacher, introducing his last valuable message to us. When the writer visited the professor at hospital, what surprised him was that the professor   _  .
was suffering form great pain was still very confident didn't know he would die soon still cared for others