Good friends of ours are having a hard time. Our son played with their son on the high school soccer team. We’ve known their son since grade school, but became good friends with his parents when our sons began playing club soccer a few years ago.
In the middle of his college career, their older son enlisted last year, went through bootcamp and shipped off to Afghanistan. Last fall, the father was diagnosed with colon cancer and just finished his second round of Chemo. He’s been having a hard time, but the treatments were coming to an end and their son was due to come home on leave last week.
Through it all, the wife of this family remained the most giving person, cooking food for parties she couldn’t even attend due to her husband’s illness. Never one to ask for help, she works in the mortgage industry (in the Detroit market... need I say more?) and he’s been missing a lot of work, due to his treatments. Everyone’s suffering financially, these days, but they are getting hit inordinately hard.
My wife and I are part of a small group and we decided to do something nice for them. They were planning on being out of town over the Easter week, so we were planning to sneak into their house (with the help of relatives) and do some home improvement / spring clean-up while they were gone. Things were coming together quite nicely.
Two days before his leave, their son, Alex, was driving an armored vehicle outside of Bagdad (yes, I know.. IRAQ?) when he drove over (or past) and IED that exploded. The soldier next to him lost both legs. A kid in the back seat, lost a leg, couple toes, and can’t use one arm. One soldier in back walked away unscathed. Alex’s legs were badly damaged, and it became apparent if he kept them he’d be in a wheel chair for the rest of his life. Yesterday afternoon the amputated both legs beneath the knee, and because of extensive damage to the back of his thighs, (which were life-threatening enough by themselves to kill him) they may need to take more.
His parents are living outside of DC in a Marriot Courtyard, and events are unfolding as I type. Alex is in Walter Reed and will be there for quite awhile. Alex’s father is not doing well. After coming off his last Chemo treatment, he’s weak, susceptable to infection, and can’t even go in with his son, being both in danger and dangerous to his son at the same time.
Needless to say, we’re not thinking about doing home improvement any longer, although Extreme Home Makeover might be an option.. (I’ll get the video camera)
Perhaps its stories like these that are written in blood that make us stronger. Make us appreciate the blessings of life.
They make us examine and question our values, our priorites, our government. They make me look up to God and say.. “Why?!?”
But the answers can wait. Right now... we.. those who know and love Alex and his parents, or empathize with their plight, need to act.
More later...
