Ty smiling from his hospital bed 2 days after being whisked to the hospital via ambulance and having his world turned upside down
Let’s see…how to summarize the past 7 days? A week ago tonight, on September 6th, our lives were turned upside down. A mom is never prepared to hear her child has cancer. And then the rest of the bad news trickles in… 6 months in the hospital, what the chemo will do to his body – both in the short and long terms. You’re faced with making urgent decisions about school, work, insurance, other responsibilities…but all the while you’re gripped with an utterly paralyzing fear for your child’s well-being, for his future. At the same time, your friends, co-workers, family, neighbors mobilize, and you become the recipient of amazing acts of love and support. You’re devastated, shocked, humbled, lifted up, exhausted, hopeful, hopeless…
So the most amazing thing in this first week is how much my faith has been strengthened. When Tyler was born, we dedicated him to the Lord; he’s ours to parent, love and guide during our time on this earth, but he belongs fully to God.
Humanly, I want to grab him back right now, take control, and say, “no cancer, no suffering!” But I don’t have that option, so I have to trust that the cancer and the suffering won’t break my baby boy and that God won’t waste a moment of hurt, but will use it all for His glory. His plan for my son is a perfect plan, even if it’s not what I would have planned.
I’ve already noticed how the staff smile more around Tyler – his humor and attitude brightens their day. He and the Fellow got into a syringe water fight last night. Tyler’s friends amaze me. They’ve created a Facebook page – Pray for Tyler McGinn. They’re organizing fundraisers. They created beautiful hand made cards that now decorate his room. They come visit and make him laugh. They send him encouraging posts and pray fervently for him.
A co-worker of mine created Team Tyler! for the Annapolis Light the Night Walk to raise money for Leukemia and Lymphoma on September 24th -(http://pages.lightthenight.org/md/annapoli11/TeamTyler). Ron’s boss offered up her house, close to Hopkins, for showering and changing after a night in the hospital.
Ron and I have been showered with gifts of hugs, food, parking garage vouchers, so much more. I’ve always loved my church, but now I’m staggered with the support they’re giving our family. I could go on and on about all the serendipitous events of the past week. In the midst of the fear and upheaval, my heart is warmed and I’m uplifted.
I honestly haven’t been able to say one coherent prayer since last Tuesday when the doctor sat down, looked at me with kind eyes, and said, “I have very bad news for you…” So knowing that friends, loved ones, and perfect strangers are praying is my lifeline right now.