I would like to share with you about a scary yet beautiful event that happened to my family. Back in June 26th of 2017 my wife and I found out that our son Tam (4 years old then) had a rare cancerous brain tumor. Before discovering the tumor, we knew something was wrong with Tam but we had no idea it was brain cancer. We kept going to different doctors but each time it was either dismissed as a stomach virus which was quite common for this situation. Tam was getting very weak due to the fact he was not able to eat or even drink water without having to throw up.
We decided to pray about our situation and communicate with our church pastor. Amazingly, soon after, we met a doctor that noticed that Tam’s symptoms were similar to a patient with a brain tumor, so that doctor finally ordered a CT scan to confirm Tam’s brain tumor. Being able to find the cause of the downward spiral of Tam’s health was the first miracle. Upon this discovery, I was also so scared that I went outside and prayed to God with tears and on my knees. I asked God if we could possibly have a little bit more time with Tam and God went on to give us just that and more.
Tammy was quickly transferred to Stanford Children’s Hospital to do the surgery. Thankfully, the surgery was a success with the tumor fully removed. The next step was for Tam to literally learn how to walk again by going through rehabilitation to regain all of his motor skills. After rehab, we shot over to St. Jude in Memphis, Tennessee where we completed 30 treatments of radiation and 4 rounds (each round is 21 days) of Chemo treatment.
Throughout this whole ordeal my wife and I were so scared, yet we decided that we should remain confident that God will take care everything and to be thankful come what may. Miraculously, Tam healed completely with no side effects and to this day the cancer never made a second appearance.
It’s funny just last week I got a call from the gene testing department from St Jude’s and they informed me that according to the tests that were taken for Tam, his cancer will highly likely not return. This is a huge relief and miraculous news for us considering that children with this particular type of tumor have over a 60% chance of relapse or of the cancer returning.
We are so thankful to God for this huge blessing because in other cases there are either major side effects from the different treatments, the cancer comes back, or the child doesn’t make it through their fight with cancer. Although this time was frightening to say the least, so many beautiful things happened from this event such as old family relationships being mended and the family bonds becoming even stronger. Tam being alive and well is the greatest blessing we can ask for because we now know its not just Tam that received a second chance, but it is the whole family receiving a second chance.
No matter, friend, no matter what situation you are facing, please remember to always have a positive outlook and be thankful to God during the entire process. It will all turn out for the better.
Tien Dao and family
Lord's Light of Love Church 