Thinking of Friday on a Monday

For the last week, I've been on my "cancer" diet, otherwise known as an iodine free diet, in preparation for my scan on Thursday. As much as I complain about not being able to eat chocolate, Chick-fil-a and other Christmastime goodies for the next two weeks, I am still so thankful for my access to modern healthcare and the hope that the scan will be clear. Despite insurance headaches, I am thankful for the affordability of top-notch care. And despite not liking the two shots I'll receive to the "hip" (read "butt"), I'm so thankful that they were available to me to help smooth this process. Maybe all of this is hitting closer to home due to some news I received two weekends ago.

Friday, pictured below, passed away from Burkitt's lymphoma at Uganda's Cancer Institute in Kampala. You can read more about his story at this link and an update here. The picture below was taken on Thanksgiving Day. The day started with a less-than-traditional schedule of events, including visiting Friday at the Cancer Institute and then dropping off another child's lymph node at a lab for a pathology report. The child with the lymph node issue got good news: no cancer, just tuberculosis. Friday was clearly emaciated and severely ill but his tumor had been responding well to the chemotherapy and Charles said he was looking better than he had earlier in the week. I was hopeful that he might be a success story in the long line of kids that I had advocated for and yet didn't make it.

It can be hard to stay motivated, pouring time, money, and trying to work around endless obstacles into these patients. I'm not sure what the actual "success" rate is of those that I send that actually get medical care and get better. Dismally low. There is a great article on BBC that speaks exactly to this problem here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20524606 I don't usually click on links to read articles but this one is pretty interesting. The photo at the top is taken in the room that Friday lived in for several months while receiving chemo treatments.

Despite not being able to see Friday healed on this side of eternity, I know our efforts were not in vain. My hope is that the family experienced the touch of Jesus through the many people that sought to help them. And I am thankful for my own hope to see Friday in his fully glorified body someday.