Being the father of four children and the CEO of a technology company, my days are pretty full. And yet, as busy as I may be, I felt compelled to carve out some time to write about living, and specifically about giving the gift of life through your generosity.
You see, May is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month. We all tend to forget things that are not of direct importance to us, and I must admit that until this year, I had very little awareness or understanding of Cystic Fibrosis (CF). However, as it turns out, I recently had the opportunity to work with a gifted and enchanting young lady named Tania, who happens to be afflicted with CF. I say “afflicted”, but the reality is that it is hard to imagine anything afflicting Tania.
I learned that Tania had Cystic Fibrosis on her first few days on the job. Being completely ignorant of the disease other than by name, I generally steered clear of the subject. But over the course of her eight months at Gazaro, I not only received an education in CF, but also had the opportunity to work with a remarkable individual who has not let CF slow her down one bit.
At 21 years of age and in the final year of a Commerce program, she possesses a zest for life and learning that completely belies any hint of a condition whose sufferers live to a median age of only 47. She is a straight A student, an ardent participant in her church, and an avid traveler who has not only visited many countries, but lived in four different ones including South Africa, Canada, France, and now Thailand.
At work, Tania demonstrated a level of professionalism and dedication far beyond her tender age and level of experience. Her perpetually positive attitude, cheerful demeanor, and sincere desire to help in any way she could were always uplifting to the office environment. She is one of the most genuinely helpful individuals that I have ever met, and graced with many of the values that my wife and I try so hard to instill into our own children: humility, honesty and integrity, authenticity, service-orientation and an optimistic, positive outlook on life. I have not had the pleasure of meeting her parents, but I imagine they must be immensely proud of her, and I am sure they could teach me a lot about parenting.
And that brings us back to the here and now. Having gotten to know Tania, I cannot help but be moved to help her in any way I can – not because she has Cystic Fibrosis, but because Tania displays the kind of attitude and performance that we want on our team, and the kind of character that I would like to see my children emulate.
It is for Tania and others like her that starting this year, I am going to donate to Cystic Fibrosis. I implore you to do the same using one of the links below. And if, through our contributions, we are able to help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis, I really don’t know who will benefit more: Tania, for the gift of more life, or the rest of us, for the gift of more of Tania in our lives.
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