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Ravi Ramanan

In Memory of Ravi Ramanan

Ravi, my younger brother was 43 years when he passed due to a progressive GBM. His young wife and two lovely daughters (14 and 8) celebrated his 44th birthday less than a month after his passing by baking a cake, reminiscing about the missing yet oddly present person that they so cherished.

Prior to that fateful morning when Ravi developed the seizure and speech deficit, he had achieved tremendous professional success through sheer focus. unwavering grit and hard work. He was a leader who led with integrity and by example.

After the diagnosis he never once said "why me?" He played the perfect role of a model patient who read about his condition, asked the right questions and yet accepted the doctors' verdicts without anger, without complaints. He even went back to work for several months during his initial treatment, although his work involved extensive travel and long hours.

After the tumor relapsed his family moved to Chapel Hill to pursue future treatment. He pursued his treatment with the same sincerity and optimism that he vested in any of his endeavors. Our large circle of family and fiends visited him at frequent intervals. He made sure that they were well fed and even entertained during these visits. I will always cherish watching the movie "Karate Kid" with him one month prior to his passing. He was already making plans to watch the next movie after exiting the theater! He will be remembered for his selflessness-putting others' needs before his own came naturally to him, even when he was ill.

As the tumor progressed, his speech and communication deteriorated, and his right hand and leg weakened. Buttoning a shirt would take half and hour for this tall, well-accomplished man who had until recently been a Wall Street executive. He faced his body's deterioration with total faith in his Guru and in the belief that we are not the body. He walked to the hospital prior to slipping into a coma and passed on August 14th.

This younger brother of mine taught me how to live--till the last breath. The lighted lamp is his legacy-a hope that the true purpose of life is attainable

Aruna Ramanan - Ravi's sister

 

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