On March 8, 17 days before Jishnu Raghavan passed away in a hospital in Kochi, Jishnu had put up a emotional and inspirational post on Facebook which moved all of us.
Jishnu was always positive, and took his cancer head-on with a smile. So what if life had taken a turn towards the worse? His spirit never died, and through his battle through cancer, he showed us the power of a smile, the magic of a smile.
This was Jishnu's last post about his illness.
"Being positive and always smiling makes a lot of difference.. I'm in I C U now , nothing to worry this is kind of my second home now .. I have fun here.. I was sleeping when my doctor came for rounds .. I woke up as soon as he came and gave him a bright smile... I felt like doing so as I kind of like the doctor he also has a huge smile always ... what he told me kept me thinking . he said it is so good to see a smiling patient . it gives energy to us to treat him better:. although I smile a lot , I started smiling at every situation now especially the nurses who take care of me .. trust me it made a lot of difference... they do a tough job of treating pain and in I C U things r worse but by smiling and being jovial creates such a good atmosphere that everything just gets better ... it's magic ... smile is magic .. try it . everyone knows but somehow we forget it . am I not right.. too much of advice but what I'm sharing is my experience .."
This was not just it.
In November 2014, a picture of him lying on a hospital bed and looking frail went viral on social media, along with rumours that he is dead. But he himself clarified then, and said,
"hi friends.... the pic thats floating in the social media is an old one taken after my first surgery in jan.. a mischief by some hospital staff as nobody else had access to ICU... it is sad someone had to spread such a horrible picture creating unnecessary confusion.... i am still on treatment but will be back to work soon... love you all"
And when his cancer relapsed in April 2015, he said, “We should really do everything we can to contribute to the society and the country that we live in."
We will miss you Jishnu, and we will smile every time we remember you.