It is a mother’s greatest fear to have to watch the very same child she gave life to have their life be taken away by illness, and not be able to do anything about it. Statistics from the American Cancer Society (ACS) suggest men have a 40.14 percent chance of getting the disease, while women’s odds are 38.7 percent. Despite the odds being so high, no one is ever fully prepared to hear the words and know that their days are numbered, especially not a child.
Yet for Nolan Scully, not only was he able to handle the news of his sickness with bravery, but he also wanted to make sure to make his parents feel comforted too. What he did for his mother before passing was equally heartwarming as it was heartbreaking.
Humankind has made a lot of progress in science and medicine and has found ways to prevent and treat the death of many innocent victims that illnesses once claimed. Yet sadly, despite the better odds we have grown to develop, Cancer is still one of the hardest diseases to fight and despite the treatments we have available, some people still have their bodies give up on them and lose their battles to it.
Nolan was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that affects soft tissue, when he was only three years. He had barely lived long enough to experience the joy of playing outside and being a child and he already didn’t have enough energy to be himself through the chemotherapy.\
Just when the family thought that they were going through the worst of it, the day came when his parents received the worst news any parent could bear. The doctors told them that the Cancer was spreading too fast in their son’s body, and there was nothing they could do about it. This means that even treatment wouldn’t work. Nolan was dying.
The parents couldn’t cope with the fact that the situation was completely outside of their control. They wished that there was something they could do to keep their little boy, or at least to ease his suffering. They also were dreading having to break the news to their child, who barely even could understand the limits of life and death. yet, to their surprise, when they explained to Nolan that his fight was over, his mother remembers that he felt immediate relief.
Nolan explained to his parents that the reason he had been fighting was that he felt like they needed him to, but he was glad to no longer have to. He was asked: “Is that what you have been doing?? Fighting for Mommy??” The four-year-old’s response was: “Well DUH!!”
Ruth then asked her son what her job was as his mom, to which he said, “To keep me SAFE! (With a big smile)” His response made Ruth’s heartbreak on the spot and all she could say to him was: “Honey … I can’t do that anymore here. The only way I can keep you safe is in Heaven.”