Thanks

“Go raibh maith agat” in Gaelic means Thank you.  Like other translations, the words are different, but the meaning is the same, especially at this time of the year.  When we think of cancer there’s not too many times the word “thanks” enters our minds.  Why would it?  What could you possibly be thankful for if people you love have cancer?  I myself think plenty and Thanksgiving is a good time to challenge ourselves with thanks we struggle with or thanks we don’t recognize often enough.  For instance, I’m thankful I danced on top of the bar at Burke’s Tavern the night I first met Diane.  Sure, “someone” got thrown out for life because “someone” pulled down the mirror ball and “someone” also put their fist through the bathroom door.  Diane didn’t seem like that kind of person back then, so I’m thankful she calmed down over the years.  In that light, I’m thankful my sons, Devin, Dillon, and David have turned out so polite after being raised in our house.  Growing up with me for them was like Forrest Gump being greeted everyday by the bus driver at boot camp, except I shouted louder.  I’m thankful Diane was there to round off my sharp edges.  Strange as it sounds, I’m also personally thankful for getting cancer early in my career.  When I started as a hospital administrator right after college I had a big difficulty dealing with physicians and  nurses.  They drove me nuts insisting on improving silly things like patient care over reducing expenses.  The conflicts got so bad I truly questioned whether I had made the right career decision.  Then low and behold one fine day I got diagnosed with cancer.  All of sudden all of those pain in asses were now treating me with the same kindness they treated every patient, even though I acted like a jerk as a boss.  I had an epiphany that clinicians just want the best for patients regardless of the expense.  To this day I’ve kept that lesson which made me both a better executive and a person.   So, I’m thankful cancer saved my career.   A boss of mine, Frank Tidikis, once reminded me “you need to put back in life more than you take out.”  That belief rings true for me during Thanksgiving and also throughout the year.  Sure, cancer has kicked me in the teeth many times, but I’m thankful that I’ve survived all this time as an example to give other people the same Hope that they too, like me, can put in more than they take out.  Enjoy Thanksgiving this year and every year.  Peace.