Six years ago, on February 28th, 2003, our nephew Benjamin was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. This form of leukemia accounts for almost 30% of all childhood cancers. My brother and his family were living in Seattle at the time, where Mike was working at The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Arwen was nearing the end of her pregnancy with their third child - Lydia was born on March 8th, 2003.
My mom and dad, my sister, and I had all tentatively scheduled visits out to Seattle within the next 2 months to help out with the new baby, but we didn't realize that we would be helping out with a new baby and a 4 year old undergoing chemotherapy. My mom ended up taking a train to Seattle (within a day or two of the cancer diagnosis) to help out. If you don't know Mike and Arwen and their family, you need to meet them. They have an incredible story of faith in the midst of a very difficult trial.
I'm trying to think of a way to describe Ben... the first word that pops into my head is energetic. He's constantly on the move! You should watch him play baseball or soccer - he's great! After Ben's diagnosis, he lost the strength to walk. This was very difficult to witness. Here was a little boy who had all the energy in the world and now he needed to rely on others to carry him. If you see Ben now, you would never guess that he was a cancer survivor.
We pray for our extended family daily, but Ben gets an extra prayer - that he may remain cancer free. Mike and Arwen have used their experiences in such instrumental ways. They are involved in a group called Brighter Tomorrows, which is a group for parents of children who are cancer survivors or whose children are in various stages of treatment. Ben is a reminder to me to be joyful in the midst of trials, and Mike and Arwen are my reminder to "pay it forward." We love you Ben!