“He wasn’t able to talk during that time. I could talk to him, but he couldn’t communicate with me. He was in the hospital – the ICU.
I get energy from providing support to the people I love. So, when my dad was diagnosed with lymphoma, it was difficult to see him go through a hard time. I wasn’t living near him, so I couldn’t support him the way that I wanted to. Even though I could give him emotional support and words of affirmation, it felt different from being in his presence.
There were a lot of feelings of helplessness, but I also had incredible feelings of hope. It’s what got us through hour by hour. I had the support of my older sister and my mom, so we just sat and prayed and hoped together. Going through that experience deepened my faith. It’s one thing to be strong in your faith when everything around you is great. Then you’re thrown into a situation where that faith gets tested. It was important for me to hang on to what I knew and believed. That really gave me hope in moving forward.
In moments when he wasn’t able to talk to me, I still felt his positive spirit saying, “I’m going to be good. When I’m out of this, when I’m healed, I’ll meet you on the basketball court for a game of one on one, and I’ll beat you again.” Half of the time I wondered, why is this happening? Why him? Why my family? But the other half of the time, I felt reassured that he was a fighter. Because of the strength I knew he had, there was peace in knowing that he was going to come out of this 100%. And he’s now in remission. He’s healthy.
I realized what was important in life and what didn’t matter. Chasing success and gaining accolades meant nothing to me if the people close to me didn’t feel loved and supported. Moving forward, I value my family and my relationships even more. I make sure to let them know that they are important to me through my words and my actions. No amount of money, awards, and recognition can provide the same amount of comfort as being in community with people who matter.” – Leyou Belayneh, Lebanon, NH
