Ben's Story

 

 

Ben was gifted to our family as a buy-one-get-one package in May of 2009, an identical twin. We felt like we had won the lottery! TWO healthy babies at once! From the beginning, he was my smiler. Easy-going, let-me-just-do-it-for-my-brother-and-save-everyone-the-hassle kinda kid. A joy.

 

For the first four-and-a-half years, he was a healthy kid. Tough, actually. He never complains about anything. An optimist. Even when his sister broke his toy and his brother yelled at her, Ben corrected him, saying, "But Jack, now we have TWO!"

 

 

But in the middle of January 2014, Ben started complaining of headaches. Headaches? How does a four-year-old even know what a headache is? This usually accompanied severe stomach pains. And you could tell they were painful. His only relief was to get sick, sleep and then he'd wake up and eat - a happy man! Then the headaches started coming more frequently. And lasting longer. We went to the pediatrician: sinus infection, they said. They sent us home with an antibiotic. But it didn't seem to help. We went to the ER: constipation. Then they prescribed a stronger antibiotic. Still, no change. Finally, nine days after the first headache, my husband insisted we visit the ER again. And this time, we wouldn't leave until we had answers.

 

That evening revealed the unimaginable. A tumor. A big one. The size of a pear. And it had overtaken Ben's brain. And it looked aggressive. An MRI, brain surgery with an amazing team of pediatric neurosurgeons and a pathology report confirmed: our healthy little boy had a cancerous brain tumor. Stage IV Glioblastoma. An adult cancer. That only 0.00002% of the population gets. And it was likely that he only had a few more months before it overtook him completely.

 

This week, February 25th, we begin an aggressive treatment plan of both radiation and chemotherapy at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, right here in Buffalo, NY. We are scared. We are intimidated by the scientific odds. But we are also people of faith. We believe that God has a higher purpose for our "mighty" Benjamin and that He will work a miracle in his life. Because God has never failed us. Not even once.

 

 

We have received an amazing amount of support from our family, friends, community, and people all around the world. We will always be indebted to the many prayers said on our behalf.

 

Thank you for walking this road with us. We are so grateful not to walk alone.