Barb reports:
We got word that Jack is worse...Mark and I are going up to the hospital to see him. The cancer is now in his spinal fluid. Yesterday they took him off the ventilator. He stops breathing sometimes, and Jay gently shakes his hand and tells him to breathe, and he does. Today, however, he is becoming disoriented and confused...the cancer is affecting him more. They have called in hospice. Jay doesn't think it will be today, but soon.
I ask that you all pray for a peaceful, holy death for our Jack....that it will be such to be consoling to Jay and Suzy and a cause of conversion for many.
UPDATE:
<>Please keep praying.Our visit to the hospital was so surreal. We were all looking at each other and saying it doesn't seem possible, seem real. Perhaps this is a coping mechanism the dear Lord gives us.
Jack had another seizure while we were there today and when he came out of it, he told Jay and Suzy that he was ready to go. Suzy told him he could go whenever he was ready. We all cried. Suzy and Jay are holding up very well when they're in his room. Jay would come out and talk to us and that's when he would cry. They wanted to bring him home, but don't know the effect on their older children. They're afraid that Jack's room would just become the place where Jack died and they don't know if they want that. So tomorrow, they're going to talk to the people at the hospital that deal with these issues to find out how others handle this.
Perhaps, our dear Lord will take the decision out of their hands. The doctors say it could be hours, days, weeks...they don't like to speculate. It's hard to imagine when you see him that it could take weeks, but of course I don't know. They say it all depends on what part of the brain is affected by the cancer. He is drowsy all the time, occasionally tries to say something softly. Sometimes, the buzzer goes off because he stops breathing and Jay or Suzy gently shake his arm and say his name and he breathes again.
Thank you all so much for your prayers....
Venerable Louis and Zelie Martin, Servants of God,
You offered many prayers for your own sick children.
We unite our prayers with yours for Jack's healing.
May God look favorably on your intercession and, in His Mercy, grant us our request.
May His will be done in all things.
Venerable Louis and Zelie, pray for us!
6 comments:
I'm so sorry to see this. Praying.
I am still praying ... this is agonizing to read about much less for this family to endure. May God grant them peace, discernment and the ability to FEEL His love, His hand on them as they walk down this dark road.
Thanks for updating Barb. I know this is hard for you. We will pray for a peaceful and gentle passing for little Jack. And we will also pray for your family that you will feel God's comfort and love as He helps you through this.
my fervent prayers are with you and and everyone in Jack's life during this difficult time.
I have to say...reading that Jack is ready to go breaks my heart. I'm comforted by the fact that he's resigned, but the thought of him (as a child) having to be that way is tearing me up. If God's will is to bring Jack home soon, so be it, but I'm still nagging Louis and Zelie...
I am so sorry. I have to say that from the last few posts I was afraid that this was coming.
I will pray extra tonight for Jack and all his family and friends.
Recently a dying friend and his grown son each told me independently that they were finding that you are never ready. I told this to a veteran cathechist I know (she too is perhaps not long for this world), and she said that you can be prepared, but don't expect to be ready.
I will pray for comfort for Jack, and all his family and friends. I learned recently that "comfort" that was given to Our Lord in Gethsemane is not the same as what the current age thinks of when it uses the word. Today it has the connotation of removing or reducing suffering. But in fact the word originally did not mean that at all. The "com" is the same as in "community", and "communion". The "fort" means strength. So the "comfort" the angel offered Jesus in his agony was to be with him to strengthen him, not to take any of the pain away.
The truth is somethimes we can't take any of the pain away. All we can do is proffer our shoulders and offer to share it.
Regarding my dying friend mentioned earlier, I had the very high honor of being a pallbearer at his funeral. He was very light when he died, but that coffin was one of the heaviest things I have ever carried in my life. I would have given an arm and been satisfied.
May God comfort Jack, his family, and their friends. May He grant them comfort and hope. I ask this in Jesus' name.
LogEyed Roman
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