I hope this does not violate the terms of use here, but I face a serious dilemma.

Yesterday, I received an email that shocked me to my core. Honestly, I cannot recall another episode in my 58 revolutions of the flat earth that has affected me so greatly. Being a rather smug, sarcastic, even arrogant person, it was and is my habit to recognize a challenge or serious issue, to rise up, to face it, and to confront it and to deal with it head on, but always on my own.