Update Jan 9: From Jen: "When Silas was dying... his chest stopped rising and falling and I called the doctor in to check his pulse. It was dropping.
Update: 1/5/2024: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/hampton-va/silas-cameron-11600292 :-(...
Update 12/22: Jen shared that one of Silas' friends at St. Mary also had RSV and died on the very same day in the same children's hospital. Please pray for the Ward family. She shared that in 2011, her father saw a man sitting in his hospital room and told people he was there to take him home. She said she likes to think there was an angel at CHKD (children's hospital) to escort both boys home together.
Update 12/21: Jen says there will be a celebration of Silas' life sometime in January. She asks that we pray for her to be able to sleep now and in the future.
Update 12/20: I really messed up and hope you each will forgive me for my mistake. I misunderstood two of Jen's posts.
Silas is still alive, but he is heavily sedated to keep him comfortable as his body shuts down. He is expected to pass any time now. I also messed up again:
Please pray that the condolence card I sent to the family does not cause them great upset. I have already written to Jen and explained it is on the way due to my misunderstanding of her posts. I did not want it to catch her off guard. I hate it when I do things that can cause other people anguish. Lord, please forgive me.
Update: Jen responded with love and grace and said that by time it gets to her, he very likely will already be with Jesus.
Update 12/20 12 noon: Silas is with Jesus. Please cover his family in prayer.
*****
Please pray for family friends Jen and Jon. Their beautiful son just died. I have shared prayer requests for Silas in the blog in the past. This just breaks our hearts for his family.
Silas was a special needs child due to HLH which hit him as a baby. He had a beautiful smile and gorgeous hair. To give Jen a break, Amanda took care of Silas when he was still living at home. As he grew too heavy to care for, he became a resident of St. Mary's Children's Home. Our family has regularly prayed for Silas and his family over the years. We will miss seeing his smiling face and hearing about the fun things he was doing at St. Mary's.
Last week, Silas came down with RSV and was admitted to CHKD. It looked like he was getting better but yesterday he took a turn for the worse. The RSV reactivated the horrible HLH. He died yesterday. This is the second child this family has lost to HLH. Carter, Silas' older brother, died from HLH when he was 2 years old.
Because of their story, this family has had an amazing impact for the Lord. You can read part of their story and witness Jen's incredible faith for yourself in what she wrote here.
Silas leaves behind his parents, a biological sister, a step-brother, and a wonderful loving family of nurses at St. Mary's. All of them could use prayer in the days ahead. Please pray for them like you would pray for me and my family. Thank you for any prayers you lift up for my friends. May the Lord richly bless you for them.
"Because God is good no matter what…with God, there’s
always hope."
-Jen
Update 12/19 12:24 p.m. I have had a very hard time with the news of Silas' death today. There are not too many things that make me shed tears, but this had me sobbing like a baby for my friend Jen. My heart was just wrecked, and I have struggled to function. I was just listening to a video where a Brother in Christ shared 1 Corinthians 2:9 about how eyes have not seen and our minds can not comprehend what God has prepared for us. God knew just how to speak to my heart to lift my spirits. Right now, this day, this period of mourning...SUCKS! Grief is one of the seasons of life we have to slog our way through wondering how we will endure long enough to take the next breath. But knowing our Father says something unfathomably good is coming that will exceed our biggest expectations helps me shift my focus from now to look ahead to our eternal future. That is what keeps me going.
