Dare to Believe

Sometimes there are moments in our lives that are so overwhelming; the pain, sadness, fear seem to take our breath away and it is hard to believe that something good can come out of the situation. Yesterday, one of the families at the hospital was in that place. We had to tell them that the cancer in their son’s leg was getting bigger not smaller like we hoped. So the surgery we talked about last week was no longer an option. Now the only way to be sure that we get all the cancer is to amputate his entire leg. The parents had a hard time wrapping their head around that. They kept asking if there was another way. They were so worried that their son will become very depressed. When he was first diagnosed he was in a lot of pain and felt sick from the chemotherapy. He told his parents that he would just like to die and be done with it. This is what a 9 year old boy is dealing with! His dad doesn’t want us to tell him that he will have his leg amputated. We told his dad that he has to know; waking up from surgery without his leg would be more traumatic and we would lose his trust. We had to help them see that having their son alive with one leg is better than him dying.

I told them there are several kids who only have one leg and they are doing incredible things. A group of them are going on a ski trip next week. On our teen retreat, one of the boys has only one leg and he is faster on his crutches than most of the teens with two legs. He prefers his crutches over his prosthesis because he is much faster on the crutches. I remember a few years ago a teenage boy crying and begging us not to cut his leg off. This same young man is 2 years out from completing chemotherapy and graduating from high school this year. He is proud of his Cheetah prosthesis and he is able to run and play basketball which he loves. We know how to help them through this horrible situation. It is our job to help them dare to believe that something good can come out of this and to help them remain hopeful.

“Would dare you, would you dare, to believe, that you still have a reason to sing, 'cause the pain you've been feeling, can't compare to the joy that's coming so hold on, you got to wait for the light, press on, just fight the good fight because the pain you've been feeling, It’s just the hurt before the healing, the pain you’ve been feeling, just the dark before the morning. Once you feel the way of glory, all your pain will fade to memory…”  “Before the Morning” by Josh Wilson