Albert - Tears and Prayers for My Father-In-Law

   

Yesterday we visited with my father-in-law.  He has Multiple Myeloma, a rare cancer that affects your bones and is really quite painful.  He was admitted to the hospital over a month ago because of pain.  It was determined that the cancer had spread into his neck, resulting in a fracture.  The doctors had given him some radiation to shrink some tumors and reduce his pain.  They also started him on daily chemo.  After a couple of weeks the fracture got worse.  Now he is in more pain and is bedridden.  He is seeing the bone specialist tomorrow and we will see if there is any hope in these fractures healing.  At this point, things are not looking very good.

This situation had been heavy on our hearts.  The pain medication and the cancer has made it hard for Albert to talk and occasionally his thoughts are muddled or incoherent.  For my husband, this situation is a complete deja vu.  Over ten years ago, his mother passed away from the exact same cancer and went through a very similar process.  His father is staying in the same hospital unit were his mother passed away and as John walks the same halls that he did 10 years ago, I can see the sadness well up in his eyes.  Its so painful for me to watch helplessly as my father-in-laws condition decreases.  It hurts to see my husband re-live all the pain he has already gone through and fight this new devastation, realization that he will now most likely lose his father.  I morn over this loss for my children at the possibility of missing out on a Godly role model and a grandfather's love and affection.  I feel lost and I don't really know how to comfort the people I love.    

While digging through some books on my father-in-laws shelf, picking out a few that I brought for him to read, I came across a book called "Holding on to Hope" by Nancy Guthrie.   She goes through the story of Job while bringing in some of her own personal struggles, which includes losing two children, and how to deal with grief and devastation.  So far it has been insightful and I would recommend it to other Christians who feel like they are going through a difficult struggle.