as the story of a long, courageous struggle between a child and Death.”
So opens a book written by a father two years after his son died of a brain tumor at the age of seventeen. The title, taken from my favorite Donne sonnet, was the reason I picked this book up.
It’s a sad story, but it really didn’t move me; it didn’t cause even one teardrop to fall. That bums me out and makes me wonder what’s wrong with me.
Perhaps I was too detached, too clinical in my reading. Johnny Gunther died of a malignant glioblastoma, the same tumor my sister had/has (part was removed and part remains). Whenever I give medical histories and mention the glioblastoma the nurse sighs and asks how long my sister lived. Defying all odds and attributable only to Divine Providence, she’s lived with this tumor nigh until thirty years. It was interesting to note the treatment prescribed in 1947 and see how much has changed.
The alternative diet therapy, considered quack treatment, turned to by the Gunthers in desperation added many months to Johnny’s life. What diet you ask? Saltless, fatless, sugarless, with lots of fresh fruit and fresh veggies, oatmeal and an apple-carrot mash. Add in multiple enemas a day. “The regime was certainly onerous. Johnny said wearily after the first week, ‘I even tell time by enemas.'”
Perhaps I didn’t connect because the family didn’t share my faith in and dependence on God to make it through this kind of crisis. However, I would say that was true of Joan Didion’s A Year of Magical Thinking and I was touched by her grief. Johnny, best described as a humanist, wrote an Unbeliever’s Prayer:
forgive me for my agnosticism;
For I shall try to keep it gentle, not cynical,
nor a bad influence.
And O!
if Thou art truly in the heavens,
accept my gratitude
for all Thy gifts
and I shall try
to fight the good fight. Amen.
One phrase about writing captured me (emphasis mine):
of the deep, perplexing downdrafts a writer may have.
I read somewhere that this was standard high school reading. Do any of you remember reading this? Any further thoughts?
A Living Pencil 
Yes, I remember reading this book while I was in high school. The story touched me then. I just remember admiring the courage of a 17 yr old.
I am following with prayer Heather (http://www.especiallyheather.com) who is having surgery today for a brain tumor. So, do I understand that your sister with the tumor is still living?
Dana in GA
Dana, thank you, thank you for the link. Oh, I will pray for her and for her surgeons. And what a wonderful use of the internet to gather together and care for her. Wow. Again, I need to pursue clarity… Yes, my sister is living. She is disabled from a stroke, but her mind and memory are fine. Her husband cares for her at home and he is one of the quiet heroes of the world.
Yes, I remember this book being one of the choices in high school, but I didn’t read it. Of course, I had the perverse English teacher who made us watch the stupidest TV movies, as well as the “great classic” (note the sarcasm in my voice), “Grand Prix.” It makes me feel good to see that my values have changed in that I don’t just look up to people who died young, but I look up to those who died young WITH INTEGRITY AND HIGH CHARACTER….and many times, those include having God as an integral part of their lives. Hopefully I’ve matured and grown in the process. I’m thankful God gives us as many years as He does to grow up!