The times they are a-changin’.
This post seems to be older than 14 years—a long time on the internet. It might be outdated.
Thursday, October 30
Scans yesterday revealed that the cancer in Ben has aggressively progressed since the end of July. There are four new tumors – three on his brain and one on his liver.
We will be starting full brain radiation tomorrow at UW Hospital. They will do this for two weeks – in the hopes of reducing the swelling in Ben’s brain and slowing the cancer from metastasizing to his other organs. In two weeks they will scan him again and from there we will make some very difficult decisions.
We are lost and in complete despair. At this time we ask that you please respect our privacy. We will not be taking visitors. Thank you.
Jeff and Carin
Lost, angry, confused, helpless, hopeless. Just some of what I’m feeling. I really don’t know where to begin.
1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.
2O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but I have no rest.
-Psalm 22:1-2
For a long time, I’ve dreaded the though of seeing a post:
“Ben passed away last night…”
This isn’t that post. In some ways, though, I think it’s worse. I don’t think people are afraid of death, people are afraid of dying…the process of death. The process is what haunts us. If we just went to bed one night and the next morning we woke up in heaven, I think everyone would be pretty happy with that. So to see a post like this, that is what makes me sad. Ben is dying.
How can I keep putting off the what is surely the inevitable? I’m having to reject every ounce of logic in my being just to hold out hope for Ben.
What do I pray for now? A miraculous healing? A merciful and peaceful passing?
What do I do?
Post script: The world seems very small now. Politics. War. Homework. School. Halloween. They don’t seem relevant now. For God’s sake, a child is dying! How can anything else matter?
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