Last night I learned of a young man, Benjamin Martin, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Glioblastoma--a cancerous brain tumor on April 23, 2009. He's eight years old.
Since being diagnosed Ben has undergone several brain surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation. He was doing well for a short time, but at the beginning of September, the tumor returned with a vengeance and is now near the brain stem. Doctors do not feel like he is a candidate for further surgeries, so the family is seeking alternative treatment at the Burzinski Clinic, a major international cancer center providing alternative cancer treatments such as antineoplaston--the treatment Ben is undergoing. The problem? Like many stories of American medicine, Ben's insurance will not cover the treatments, and his mother, determined to help her self-proclaimed superhero son fight, is making the sacrifice.
As with others, this story really tugs at the reins of my heart. Not only because he is so young, yet faced with something many of us will never have to experience at such a young age, but the fact that the doctors have given up on him. At any age, this is a tragedy, and even more so for someone that could possibly have his whole life in front of him. With this treatment his chances of survival increase from close to none, to significantly more. And although the numbers are not in his favor, he still deserves the best chance he can get.
As I look over my life I thank God that everyday He gives me a new chance to get it right. He forgets the foolishness and failures of yesterday, and give me a new clean slate to try again. To increase my chances, when it seems there they are none. And with each opportunity, the chances get better. I get better. So why do we not exhibit this kind of faith, no only in medicine, but in God's ability to make a way, through the gifts he's given to other people or even directly through our dedication to prayer and fasting?
Often times when people pass, family set up funds and non-profits to prevent other people from having to go through the devastation of losing a loved one due to inadequacy in knowledge, medicine or even finances. And the money goes to benefiting a larger group of people. We feel good when we give, not really know how much of a change our little bit will do, but knowing that the sum of the little bits could potentially equal a lot.
But giving to Ben is more than a good cause. It is something that you're tied to emotionally because just like we hope for life, death is still very much an option. And that is something that you would carry with you forever. And that is something that the world is missing. How much better could we be if we sacrificed our personal comfort to really care about people other than ourselves. But the giving, the hope, is no less in vain.
At the end of the day God has the final say and regardless of what that result is God is still God. Until the final curtain call, life goes on. As the saying goes "keep hope alive!," but lets do it today---in life.
For more information and to see how you can help increase Ben's chances go to http://www.bensfight.org/.
And check out this 8-year old's blog at http://www.superherobenfightglioblastoma.blogspot.com/.
To find out more about Ben's treatment go to http://www.burzynskiclinic.com/
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