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(I am going to be a little bit vague on details to protect privacy on the off chance that someone here may know the subject of this thread)
I have a professional friend, late 50's, subspecialty surgeon, with whom I share a common interest in early retirement. We eat lunch together often in the doctor's lounge, usually with a few others, but I have never socialized with him outside the hospital. I have closely followed his early retirement blueprint as a potential model for what I might do in the future, and he has been forthcoming with his plans over the last few years.
In fact, he is retiring at the end of this month, and he and his wife are planning to go to Europe in early October. He has had a full medical career, raised and educated his kids (all adults now), bought land and built his dream retirement home in the mountain West, and looks forward to the rest of his life in front of him, with travel, golf, skiing, and lots of time to spend with family. In addition, he picked up a part time college biology teaching gig in his new location. Everything was falling beautifully into place. Until this week.
What looked at first to be an unusually aggressive bout of pneumonia with a pleural effusion over the weekend has turned out to be either Stage IV lung CA (never smoked) or metastatic disease to the pleura (unknown primary), either of which will almost certainly limit his early retirement to three to six months, and not likely include much European travel, golf, or skiing.
Absolutely heart-wrenching and brutal
, but a sharp lesson to balance living for today with planning for the future.
I have a professional friend, late 50's, subspecialty surgeon, with whom I share a common interest in early retirement. We eat lunch together often in the doctor's lounge, usually with a few others, but I have never socialized with him outside the hospital. I have closely followed his early retirement blueprint as a potential model for what I might do in the future, and he has been forthcoming with his plans over the last few years.
In fact, he is retiring at the end of this month, and he and his wife are planning to go to Europe in early October. He has had a full medical career, raised and educated his kids (all adults now), bought land and built his dream retirement home in the mountain West, and looks forward to the rest of his life in front of him, with travel, golf, skiing, and lots of time to spend with family. In addition, he picked up a part time college biology teaching gig in his new location. Everything was falling beautifully into place. Until this week.
What looked at first to be an unusually aggressive bout of pneumonia with a pleural effusion over the weekend has turned out to be either Stage IV lung CA (never smoked) or metastatic disease to the pleura (unknown primary), either of which will almost certainly limit his early retirement to three to six months, and not likely include much European travel, golf, or skiing.
Absolutely heart-wrenching and brutal
, but a sharp lesson to balance living for today with planning for the future.
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