It Is Done, And Yet Also Just Beginning (updates)

At 1:55 this morning, the Unknown Son (his name is Jonathan, by the way) eased away and stopped breathing. Our son has finally let loose the bonds of earth and gone home. No more suffering, no more limitations, and no more cancer. He now rests in the lap of the Father with his cousins Jacob and Jennifer. And that's NOT a figure of speech - it's a description.

It's been a tough time - 2,439 days since his diagnosis on 10/1/2002. After gallons of chemotherapy, multiple surgeries, and visits to six hospitals, our son is finally free. After years of pain and limitations, he can now run without tiring, jump without limits, and stay up as long as he wants.

We miss him, and will every day for the rest of our earthly lives. But believe it or not, it's not all grief (but there is that). We're glad that his pain and struggles are over. But now he doesn't just have the absence of pain. He has JOY. For him, this isn't the end - merely the end of the beginning. We know that we'll be together again.

If you know us in our "real" lives and would like to read our son;s story (or just want directions to the memorial service Saturday), send me an email.

UPDATE:

Since many of you have have asked, our charity of choice is: The Tomorrow Fund, 593 Eddy St., Providence, RI 02903. Put "Jonathan" in the note of the check. They're affiliated with Hasbro Children's Hospital where Jonathan had a significant part of his treatment done, and they're a very worthy recipient of any donations - they both support research in cancer and provide a lot of support (financial, emotional, etc...) to families of children undergoing treatment. They'll allow us to choose the manner in which the funds will be spent (probably something relating to computers, books, or videos), so that we can come up with something that really captures something of who Jonathan is.