Joel's Journey: The 23rd.....

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

The 23rd.....

15 Months Ago....

15 months ago...

Seems like eternity, you know

15 months ago, I saw you take your last breath

I have to trust God knows best

That day, I held you close to my heart

Just like I did at birth, from the start

Your little body endured so much

So many lives your story has touched

I keep trying to see the sunshine in the rain

But my life, my heart will never be the same

As I look at "Siah" your twin

I see you by his side, memories from the begin

I like to ponder adventures you would make

Sometimes a silent smile, cause' I know Siah you would take

Words can not express how much I miss you

Bottles of tears are not a few

I will always have you in my heart

Until this world I also part

Then, in my arms you will be

With the Lord too, for all eternity

I miss you Joel!!

The 23rd, seems to always bring a sense of numbness to my heart, as I reflect the day and all of what we were doing. You , Joel were surrounded with your family, we were right by you as you took your flight. I am remembering today as everyday....

1 comment:

Anonymous said...: I just found your blog. the 23rd is a difficult day for you, probably each month. the Lord speaks to us so well in the 23rd Psalm. hope this helps you a little. bless you, Ellen; April 23, 2008 at 2:41 PM

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Joel's Story

Joel, our 11th of 13 and a twin of Josiah, at age 3 was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer, on December 6th, 2006. Joel had three perfect years of health and he and Josiah celebrated their 3rd birthday Sept. 13th, 2006. The first of Oct. Joel started having unexplained fevers for a few days and would return to active play. After the fourth round of fevers we took him to our family Dr. which they said his iron was low, so we treated that for a few weeks and took him back only to have his hemo. showing lower than before. We were referred to a hematologists and saw him a few weeks with blood checks twice a week. At a visit on Dec. 4th we showed the Dr. the bumps, (which were tumors but we did not know at the time) on Joel's head and he was very concerned and we were told we needed to admit him immediately and start extensive tests the following day. Joel went through rigorous testing and then the dreaded results were given. Joel was at a stage IV the most extensive stage, but we were hopeful that the Lord would use the means of Chemotherapy treatments to restore Joel's body. Joel endured 8 1/2 days in the hospital, came home for Christmas, and returned for his second round of chemo Jan. 3, 2007. Joel had a seizure that night after midnight and went into a coma due to a tumor bleeding in his head area and causing his brain to swell. After tests the following days, the Dr. declared Joel "brain dead" and took us to court to force us to take Joel off life support, as we did not agree with the medical field's definition of death. Our family sought to stand with the scripture, "life is in the blood,"and until Joel's heart quit beating naturally, he was living. We were making arrangements to bring him home and on January 23, 2007 his little heart stopped beating and he went to be with the Lord Jesus in heaven. Our lives are changed forever. God is faithful in the midst of this trial and we look with great hope to be with him someday.