I learned yesterday that a father who had worked with my oldest daughter lost his 22 year old son to drugs yesterday. This one crushed me because the father had to make a decision which I’m not sure I could have. You see his son had overdosed just over a month ago and was in a coma and on life support.
What this father had to do has consumed my thoughts all night long, This man lost his son to drugs, then watched him as he lie in the hospital bed sustained by modern technology because of those drugs. The emotions, the heartache, the thoughts, I can only imagine the torment of this man. The nights where he sat in the hard chair by his sons’s bedside hoping for any sign that he would be back, any sign that would allow the dad to hold on just one more day. He wasn’t looking at a cold lifeless body which was once his son, he was looking at his son who had blood flowing through his veins and breath in his lungs. This boy who was every bit his son regardless of how still he lay. There had to be a way. A way for his son to open his eyes recognize his dad and reach up to hug him. There had to be another day, more laughter around the dinner table, another coffee. There just had to be. These doctors were brilliant and there just had to be something they could do.
I don’t know this man and I don’t truly understand the pain he has suffered but I do know the discussion his circumstances has generated in me. At what point does the hope pass and the reality crush you? At what point do you decide that this life is gone? How does one reconcile the decision to prolong life or not? If you don’t believe in an after life where is the hope? Without any hope the finality of this type of decision is absolute. I couldn’t do it. With hope for eternity however, the conditions change. It does not lessen the anguish of the coming loss nor make the decision any easier. It does however in the coming days, months and years, provide a reassurance that there is a future and that that next cup of coffee will come on a snowy winter day.
My soul hurts as the tears stream down my cheeks. At a loss, what I can do. Perhaps those that might read this, if you are a Christian you could join me in prayer for this man and his family. For those of you who believe otherwise perhaps you might think of this man over a cup of coffee and wish him comfort and strength.
The battle to stem the loss of our sons and daughters to the scourges of this life, especially in these times, seems almost hopeless. But, if we plant enough seeds and push for what we think is right perhaps we can save some of them. Perhaps we can save some parents from this agony. I once was ignorant or perhaps I just didn’t want to know but, it is sad when you understand how many families are impacted by addiction. They need help………….
Beautiful Blue Sky 