by Lisa Nelson

Created on: July 07, 2009   Last Updated: July 08, 2009

Coping with difficult times, is different for each individual person. When a major illness like cancer, strikes a family member, it is the family as a whole that becomes affected by it. When one person struggles for life and death, it seems that all members, go through the struggle. It is not easy, by far. I saw first hand, that it is made easier, by trusting in the Lord. A walk with the Lord gives the family peace, as well as the person that has the cancer him or her self.

In our family's case, it was my father in law who was diagnosed with colon cancer. He'd had a part of his colon removed about 6 years ago, and never went the step further to treat with chemo, after the surgery. It seemed like he had done great, for some time after that. But then, years later, some tell-tale signs, were beginning to show up in his behavior. What he was eating, and other signs, that we saw, but he was not really offering to tell us all about. He was hoping I think, that it was not as serious, as what he was really feeling inside. You could see him sometimes, trying to cope with the pain, and not wanting to see what really was happening inside.

When he did finally go to the doctor again, the cancer had returned, and that with a vengeance it seemed. It was in his spine, his brain, his back, his lungs, and he'd even had spots to come out on his face. It seemed that what was once just colon cancer, had now spread to all through out his body. He was only 73 years young, and still very active in life. But we watched as a family, as he'd gone from active to passive in a matter of months. He was dwindling away quickly, and that right before all of our eyes. This struggle, became a part of all of us, not just him and mom, who were really coping first hand together at this awful disease. He was in and out of the hospital, and his appetite waned away to near nothing.

At the end, he was only eating pudding, and white rice, and milk. We all took turns staying at the house days and nights, to help mom to take full care of him. He'd gone from life on his own, to being wheeled around the house, constant pain meds, not eating, and trips to and from the hospital. Toward the end of the entire struggle, he was in the hospital, and the doctor had told us, that he'd basically done all that he could from a hospital's care and vantage point. He knew, dad wanted to be at home, and he was letting him go there, and wanted us to know, he'd felt it would be the last trip home.

I'll never forget watching

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>