It's a sad day at our house. Stage 3 terminal lung cancer. 6-12 months with chemo. Then he is gone. Found out yesterday.
His docia (sp)
Early 40's. Legitimate 132 IQ. Educated and is a nationally known Historian. Non competitive, and laid back. Hysterically funny. Extremely and genuinely friendly and caring. He is the nicest person I have ever met, he never has a harsh or sarcastic word for anyone. Never looked down on anyone. Never smoked. The amount of detailed information and knowledge in his brain seems utterly impossible.
He is a successful research author writing historical books. The best accolade I saw on one of his covers was from Stephen Ambrose "I've never read a better account of a battle". For those who know who Ambrose is, that comment is a big deal.
He has been on FOX network Britt Hume(sp) as an expert a couple of times.
Oliver North's War Stories also flew down to STL to interview/film him for one of their shows.
This guy's intellect, knowledge and good heartedness are about to be wasted, forever.
I live with him and his 7 year old. He's my best friend. He was just given a death sentence. My head is spinning, I can't see straight, feel like puking....I can't imagine what's going on in his head.
He needs and deserves a miracle.
I am not a believer, but I know some of you here are. PLEASE pray for this guy.....he is 1-in-a-million.
If anyone replies, it is appreciated.....but I won't answer.....I'm catatonic....I probably won't even read this post again. I dunno.
His myspace page.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=91514926
No one please say "hang in there""you can beat this" etc. He aint beating shit, it's over.... Please everyone, Pray for him and his daughter. Thank you
sorry, I'll be thinking about you all and praying.
sorry to hear that eric, let me know if you need anything
damn E... I dont know what to say...
If you need a friend, a beer... anything... please call me. You know how to find me.
I am so sorry for you and your family.
Dear Speedballer347,
I don't know if we know each other or not. We may, I didn't see your name in the post. I understand if you decide not to write back, your post said you wouldn't and that's okay. I understand also that you're very angry right now, and that's okay too.
I lost my brother also when he was too young to go. It seems incredibly unfair, and very hurtful. I did not know why it happened, or what the justification for it was. All I knew was my family was hurting, it seemed unfair, and that I was mad at God. I claimed then to not be a believer myself as well. Most people will say that they understand how you feel, and they really, really won't. But trust me, I have lost a brother, and a father in unnatural and early circumstances, and it hurts like hell.
Our Lord will sometimes do extraordinarily happy and good things to bring Glory and faith to his name. Unfortuneately however, because we are in an imperfect world, he will sometimes also let things that are very hurtful, and painful, happen to us in an effort to draw us near.
My Dad smacked me in the mouth one time so hard when I was a little kid, for something I said to my Mom. It hurt so bad, and my feelings were hurt so bad, that I didn't talk to my Dad for about a week. But you know what? Today I consider my Dad one of the world's greatest heroes I've ever met. He's gone now, but the days he and I spent at the track together, or little league baseball, or drinking coffee when Mom wasn't looking are precious to me now.
I will not say "hang in there he's gonna make it" cause like you said, that hurts if it isn't true in OUR EYES. But speedballer please, please understand that the Lord has other ways of judging whether or not someone "makes it." My brother Allen is gone from me, and so is my Dad, but they are in a place that is so peaceful, and so good, that to ask them to come home back to me would be a disservice to them.
We don't go to heaven based on our good works, or good deeds, or how nice we are. It says in the book of Ephesians that "Salvation is not of works, lest any man should boast," meaning....... no human person is righteous enough for heaven, no matter how good we think we've been. But the ....." Gift of God, is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord" and my favorite is in the book of Romans, which says, "Whosever calls on the name of the Lord, SHALL be saved." In that context in that scripture the Lord is Jesus Christ, and the term being saved refers to salvation to heaven, not eternal life in our physical body.
You brother may very well pass, but you stated that his intelligence and goodness will be wasted. This is only true, if he does not assure his salvation. But if he assures his salvation before he goes, then the few months he has left on earth can be his greatest testimony and triumph, greater than any book he's ever written so far I promise...... and he'll never be wasted, but glorified when he sits in front of the Father.
If my religiosity has offended you I understand, I was mad when my brother and my Dad left too. I lived my whole life chasing things of this earth, according to desires of my own heart just like everyone, thinking that I evolved from a monkey and thinking that when I'm dead, I'm just gone. But when I was 31, (think of that, 31 years of working, racing, partying....etc etc) the Lord grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, corrected me, and now with his Word, and his Son, and his Spirit, there is nothing on this earth that has not been, "added unto me" as the Bible says. Every promise that I ever read that God gave us in his word seems IMPOSSIBLE, so I put them to the test. And you know what?? Every time I tested one of his biblical but impossible tests, he came through, and has never, ever, ever, left me without what is needed.
There is an eternity in front of you and your brother. It's a forever and ever thing man, I promise, and I swear to it on my own soul. If you and your brother, just become a whosever long enough to, "whosever calls upon the name of the Lord, SHALL be saved," then your brother will still leave you soon, no doubt, but when you leave us here, and you go on before us, then you WILL SEE HIM AGAIN, and there will never again from that point forward, "be a parting" as God has promised, in his Word.
Forgive my intrusion, reading from some self righteous do gooder is the last thing on earth you need right now for sure. But the truth is, a preacher asked me one time, (when I was 31, right before I got "born again") and the question was, "Quentin, if you died right now, are you sure from the Bible that you'd have a home in heaven?" My answer was this........... "yeah right, I'm sure all right, I'm sure I'm going to hell, cause there's 10 commandments, and I've busted half of them wide open....................."
That was me, that was my answer, and it was true, I was headed straight to hell for the things I did in my teens and twenties. But I took the time to be a whosever, just long enough to call...... and it has changed my entire life, and all things have been added unto me. If God will look at the sacrifice of his own son, Jesus, and save "A wretch like me" on his behalf, how much MORE THEN will he save your brother. A good and upright man.
I pray that you give God a chance, even if you only do it for your Brother's sake before he goes, or his daughters sake, after he's gone. Find a Bible preaching church that doesn't get into ceremonies, or "new versions" of the Bible, but one that takes the old-school original translation straight from Greek and Hebrew KING JAMES BIBLE and who stands behind a pulpit and preaches God's Word with boldness and authority. Find yourself a church like that where you live. Take your brother and his daughter there.
Forgive my intrusion, may our God Bless.
-Q
My thought's and prayer's go out in this difficult time.
Sucks, Eric.
Been there with the cancer thing a couple times very closely. And I've been on the outskirts with those who have it and with those that beat it. Additionally, we've all been with people that WILL get it.
Be the friend your brother expects. Drop me a note too. Prayers are already sent.
Speedballer, prayers sent.
Eric, praying for your bro, and for you. Faith comes easily for only a few, for the rest of us it is served upon a platter of despair, pain, suffering, betrayal, and the ends of our ropes. But it comes. With or without miracles, Christ exists, there will be life.
Prayin now...
Stay Strong
Damned cancer............ I'm so tired of losing people to cancer.
I somehow beat it but I know way too many people that have suffered this tragedy.
Eric, my prayers are there for your brother, your niece, you and the rest of your family.
Prayers sent
That really is sad. It's strange how unclear life's reasoning is. I had an alcoholic grand mother that smoked like a freight train and lived to be 89 and with no relation to the smoking and drinking causing her death. It makes no sense how or why things happen. I guess when it's time; it's just time.
My thoughts are with you though man. They really are. I hope things go as smoothly as they possibly can.
Prayers for you all. Sorry to hear the bad news. If you need anything please let us know
Bummer.
Thoughts and prayers to all.
:(
Prayers sent.
Prayers sent .
Try to stay strong for your brother. I know it's hard I've lost my mother and grandfather and other fam members to cancer.
Prayer is a strong thing. I will pray for your family that you will have peace and be blessed.
Man, so sorry to read this Speedie! :(
Is he sure he want's to do chemo. That's damn near as bad as the disease itself.
I'll pray for him tonight.
weggie hit it on the head when he said cancer sucks.
Thoughts and Prayers to you, your brother and niece...
PaulV
prayers, sent. I'm truly sorry.
Quote from: theQman23 on December 04, 2007, 12:58:04 PM
Dear Speedballer347,
I don't know if we know each other or not. We may, I didn't see your name in the post. I understand if you decide not to write back, your post said you wouldn't and that's okay. I understand also that you're very angry right now, and that's okay too.
I lost my brother also when he was too young to go. It seems incredibly unfair, and very hurtful. I did not know why it happened, or what the justification for it was. All I knew was my family was hurting, it seemed unfair, and that I was mad at God. I claimed then to not be a believer myself as well. Most people will say that they understand how you feel, and they really, really won't. But trust me, I have lost a brother, and a father in unnatural and early circumstances, and it hurts like hell.
Our Lord will sometimes do extraordinarily happy and good things to bring Glory and faith to his name. Unfortuneately however, because we are in an imperfect world, he will sometimes also let things that are very hurtful, and painful, happen to us in an effort to draw us near.
My Dad smacked me in the mouth one time so hard when I was a little kid, for something I said to my Mom. It hurt so bad, and my feelings were hurt so bad, that I didn't talk to my Dad for about a week. But you know what? Today I consider my Dad one of the world's greatest heroes I've ever met. He's gone now, but the days he and I spent at the track together, or little league baseball, or drinking coffee when Mom wasn't looking are precious to me now.
I will not say "hang in there he's gonna make it" cause like you said, that hurts if it isn't true in OUR EYES. But speedballer please, please understand that the Lord has other ways of judging whether or not someone "makes it." My brother Allen is gone from me, and so is my Dad, but they are in a place that is so peaceful, and so good, that to ask them to come home back to me would be a disservice to them.
We don't go to heaven based on our good works, or good deeds, or how nice we are. It says in the book of Ephesians that "Salvation is not of works, lest any man should boast," meaning....... no human person is righteous enough for heaven, no matter how good we think we've been. But the ....." Gift of God, is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord" and my favorite is in the book of Romans, which says, "Whosever calls on the name of the Lord, SHALL be saved." In that context in that scripture the Lord is Jesus Christ, and the term being saved refers to salvation to heaven, not eternal life in our physical body.
You brother may very well pass, but you stated that his intelligence and goodness will be wasted. This is only true, if he does not assure his salvation. But if he assures his salvation before he goes, then the few months he has left on earth can be his greatest testimony and triumph, greater than any book he's ever written so far I promise...... and he'll never be wasted, but glorified when he sits in front of the Father.
If my religiosity has offended you I understand, I was mad when my brother and my Dad left too. I lived my whole life chasing things of this earth, according to desires of my own heart just like everyone, thinking that I evolved from a monkey and thinking that when I'm dead, I'm just gone. But when I was 31, (think of that, 31 years of working, racing, partying....etc etc) the Lord grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, corrected me, and now with his Word, and his Son, and his Spirit, there is nothing on this earth that has not been, "added unto me" as the Bible says. Every promise that I ever read that God gave us in his word seems IMPOSSIBLE, so I put them to the test. And you know what?? Every time I tested one of his biblical but impossible tests, he came through, and has never, ever, ever, left me without what is needed.
There is an eternity in front of you and your brother. It's a forever and ever thing man, I promise, and I swear to it on my own soul. If you and your brother, just become a whosever long enough to, "whosever calls upon the name of the Lord, SHALL be saved," then your brother will still leave you soon, no doubt, but when you leave us here, and you go on before us, then you WILL SEE HIM AGAIN, and there will never again from that point forward, "be a parting" as God has promised, in his Word.
Forgive my intrusion, reading from some self righteous do gooder is the last thing on earth you need right now for sure. But the truth is, a preacher asked me one time, (when I was 31, right before I got "born again") and the question was, "Quentin, if you died right now, are you sure from the Bible that you'd have a home in heaven?" My answer was this........... "yeah right, I'm sure all right, I'm sure I'm going to hell, cause there's 10 commandments, and I've busted half of them wide open....................."
That was me, that was my answer, and it was true, I was headed straight to hell for the things I did in my teens and twenties. But I took the time to be a whosever, just long enough to call...... and it has changed my entire life, and all things have been added unto me. If God will look at the sacrifice of his own son, Jesus, and save "A wretch like me" on his behalf, how much MORE THEN will he save your brother. A good and upright man.
I pray that you give God a chance, even if you only do it for your Brother's sake before he goes, or his daughters sake, after he's gone. Find a Bible preaching church that doesn't get into ceremonies, or "new versions" of the Bible, but one that takes the old-school original translation straight from Greek and Hebrew KING JAMES BIBLE and who stands behind a pulpit and preaches God's Word with boldness and authority. Find yourself a church like that where you live. Take your brother and his daughter there.
Forgive my intrusion, may our God Bless.
-Q
He sounds a lot like my brother. Prayers sent
Thank you for all the replies fellas....Thanks for all the prayers and concern.
I parlayed all of the well wishes to my brother, and he genuinly thanks all of you.
It continues to get worse, now they think it has matastisised to his brain. I pray it doesnt go from bad to worse. He will get the final test results tommorrow and take them to a different hospital for a second opinion.
On the outside, he is very strong, acting as nothing is amiss. He told me today he can't believe it, is terrified, and on the verge of breaking into tears.
He goes on chemo tommorrow, we can just and and pray for a miracle.
I wish all of you would have met him...he is the most genuinly nice guy, not competive, laid back....truly a kind and caring guy.
Please continue to pray for him.
Thanks again everyone!!!!
Erik Nolan #347MW
It broke my heart to read your original post and sense the pain that you were was so obviously feeling when you wrote it. Erik, I will sincerely pray for your brother.
I know God is able. However, I don't presume to know if it is God's will to heal your brother in miraculous fashion.
What I do know is that it most certainly IS God's will that we trust Him, especially in difficult times like these.
Please know that I am praying for your brother. I am praying for you. And I am praying for the families involved.
Ron Hix
usually I can sit around this computer and think of all kinds of things to say . I've sat here for 10 minutes and still don't know what to say except we at the miller house are truly sorry and will pray Him and you and your family . This disease seems to be all around us and takes indiscriminately
Erik,
Please don't think I am crazy...but...
As I was praying for your brother and everyone involved in this situation, I began to realize what a great blessing your brother has been given. Yeah, I know it sounds completely CRAZY at first but please hear me out.
I was at a track day at Blackhawk in 2005 with a friend of mine. I was running in a different group than him and so we were not on the track at the same time. He, my wife and I were all sitting around talking before his session started and just enjoying being at the track on such a beautiful day. Less that 10 minutes later, his life was over. Zero warning. Completely out of the blue. It happened right as he exited turn 4, only a few yards from where we were pitted and talking right across the fence. As the track medics worked on him, I was by his side waiting for the life flight to get there.
The reality is that many die everyday caught completely by surprise. With plans to "get right" at some future day, they are taken completely unexpectedly.
God has graciously given your brother and your whole family a heads up, time to prepare for this thing. He has given you guys TIME and OPPORTUNITY to get everything right. In my humble opinion, this is a generous demonstration of God's goodness and love to your brother and your family. It is truly a blessing, though understandably one that is not easily accepted.
In no way do I think I am anything special or do I think I have some "hot line" to God. But I believe that from God's perspective and in light of the incomprehensible length of eternity, our short time here on Earth (whether that be 20 years or 80 years) is like a single breath. Death is just a part of this life, it is not the end...rather it is just the threshold we must all cross at the appointed time on our way to eternity.
In no way am I judging you or your brother, I don't really even know you guys. But in reality, I DO know you cause all of us are the same. We all have a pressing need to get it right in light of eternity.
It is my sincere prayer that this humble post will encourage you, your family and your brother to do just that - "get it right" in light of eternity.
I would love to sit down with your brother, with you and your family - to talk, to pray, to do anything and everything I can to encourage you guys. I have no idea where you guys live - but that doesn't really matter does it? If I am willing to travel all over the country to race a motorcycle, I am certainly willing to travel to wherever you guys are in order to discuss in detail something that I believe is the most important thing in this life.
Regardless, I will continue to pray that God will miraculously heal your brother. I encourage you to hope and pray for the best, but also to prepare for the worst.
My number is 630.430.7449. I am available.
Quote from: ronhix on December 10, 2007, 10:16:11 AM
Erik,
I am available.
Wow. That is all I can say. Wow... You know how to tug on ones heart. Bless you, Eric, his brother and family can use all the help they can get.
I lost my father to cancer and watched him wither away. Not a pretty sight. I wish the best for everyone and wish I could help but I don't think I can handle that sort of thing again. It is very hard to let go of someone you love as it drags out. It has to be the hardest on his brother knowing that his time is eminent. Not to sound selfish but, it seems a lot easier on everyone involved including the one who passes when it is Sudden.
God Speed.
Me, my family, and my friends are praying for you. As others have said, be faithful and you will be OK.
You say there is no hope, and you are probably right, but it doesn't hurt to try. My aunt was diagnosed with Level 4 brain cancer 10 months ago. She had two tumors that bridged (never seen before in this type of situation) in her brain, and was given 6 months tops. She fought through chemo and radiation, acquired and fought through diabetes, and even beat Stevens-Johnson syndrome (a bad mix of medication causes your insides to burn. This is so rare that doctors from all over the country studied her becuase they don't see it often, and you only have 10 - 15 % chance of surviving). At 8 months she was basically a vegetable and put into hospice...however, she is now getting better and better. She went out with us to dinner the other night, and even went to the mall to buy make-up.
My aunt/uncle/cousin kept this from us for the first 4 months, and when my grandma (my aunts/mom's mom) came to America, they finally let us know what was going on. With all of our lives being so busy, we didn't see them much, and although my dad and uncle talked daily, they kept the disease away from us and did not want anyone to know. When they thought it was over they finally informed everyone, however this was not the case. My mother researched and researched the disease...she found survivors of the same disease that lived 3, 10, 12+ years past their expected time, and she knew giving up and accepting was not an option.
My mother conferenced with doctors, read books, lab reports, etc...and realized what medications my aunt should be taking and why what she was taking was hurting her. (note that she came to the US when she was 27 and did not know a word of English. She learned how to use a computer just this year, but her will to help my aunt allowed her to teach herself to a point where she is more knowledgable than many doctors in this area that we have delt with thus far) We know my aunt has little life left, but we are trying to add some life into the small time she has left.
Your case if very similar. You can fight and hopefully get some more time to enjoy, however God has a plan and it will be true. All you can do is fight and pray. Miracles do happen and your brother may live for many more years, but you need to be ready. Pray for the miracles and work for them. Nothing comes easy, so be prepared for hardship over the next few months. I guess what I'm saying is NEVER give up. There will be brighter times to come.
Erik, havent forgotten you and your bro, my family and I are still praying for him. He is now come face to face with some of the most basic and desperate questions that a man can ask. What is death, will I cease to exist, what did it mean to have life when it is all for nothing? I dont know what part of the country you are in, but since you mentioned he is terrified, please call me or pm, I will come to you and him, if you guys would like. I am the same age as he is, and am not an emotional sunshine n lollipops accept faith blindly type. I have watched many men die, and came to faith over a dreadful fear of death, after much skeptical study, dismissing many religions as fraud and sham, but there was one I could not ignore. I no longer fear death, and can explain in a digestable and reasonable manner, to a logical man, this same hope that is available to your brother...and you. I have brushed death on several occassions, the Daytona crunching I took in March was not even close. My lap times may suck, but if your brother would like, I will let him draft me all the way to an eternal prize. chaplainracer220@yahoo.com 410 490 0542. Hope without fear, Art.