Get Well Steve Jobs

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February 12th, 2011

Roughly a month ago, Apple founder Steve Jobs took time off for undisclosed medical reasons. Jobs survived pancreatic cancer back in 2004 and a liver transplant in 2009. Dear Steve, God I can’t say this any more succinctly: get well soon. You see Mr. Jobs, you represent a lot more to me than just being […]

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Roughly a month ago, Apple founder Steve Jobs took time off for undisclosed medical reasons.

Jobs survived pancreatic cancer back in 2004 and a liver transplant in 2009.

Dear Steve,

God I can’t say this any more succinctly: get well soon.

You see Mr. Jobs, you represent a lot more to me than just being the Mac daddy of the world. I too am a cancer survivor and transplant recipient. Your health — I’m sorry to say — is intricately entwined with my world view. If you, the high and mighty leader of one of the planet’s coolest companies can be sidelined again by health issues, what hope is there for us everyday schlubs who have never made or lost millions? Let alone have never created gadgets and gizmos aplenty, so much so that every teen to 90-something probably covets something you’ve thought up.

I know that’s a tough terabyte of information to swallow, but it’s true. My emotional well being is tied to your physical health. I don’t like that at all. When you announced your hiatus it was at the same time my college friend Charlie announced he was going back into the hospital. Charlie had the same cancer I had. Charlie is no longer with us. Inexplicably I managed to hitch my wagon to both you and him. It’s just something I do and have done forever. I remember playing tennis as a kid and saying if I didn’t get to the ball before it crossed that particular line, the world would explode. Same thing with cracks in the sidewalk and my mother’s back.

It made me happy to hear some of the tweets and status updates reporting you’ve been seen strolling the Apple campus or dining in those cool Cupertino cafes.

But this really shouldn’t be about me, other than it’s my blog. This should be about you getting stronger, physically and mentally. So let’s aim the train in that direction. Energy is what you need. Don’t I know it. So stop worrying about wanting to nap all the time Steve. It’s your body telling you what is missing. I know you’re waking up in the middle of the night a lot too, bud. It happens to all of us and I had lunch with another survivor who told me he just goes with it. I too used to let it get to me, but then I realized I could make up whatever schedule I wanted. That, along with some freaky fantasizing and surfing the web has helped the darkness subside.

Let other people lift you and allow their positive prayers, vibes and thoughts into your soul. Yeah, it sounds new agey and all but heck, you’re from California and know these things instinctively. Ask some of us or all of us for help. You’ve helped us and we’d all love to return the favor.

Let your id out of the basement. If you feel like gluttonous food or other more decadent and hedonistic pursuits, have at it. There’s an app(etite) for that.

Don’t read about your disease online. Seriously, it will only bum you out. Even the most scholarly statistics taken from years of data don’t account for your own set of individual circumstances. As a recovering friend once told me, I’m either in the 100th percentile or the zero one.

Here’s another tip; don’t tie your emotional well-being to other people. Be they college buddies or corporate giants, your health is your own. No one should be dumb enough to allow other’s fate to dictate their own progress.

Get so well your health is blinding, my friend.

Peace,

Rodney

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