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Miracles Along the Way

The cost of the treatment in Boston was going to be a lot of money. My parents weren't rich; I mean, having Beth and I live out on our own helped some, but paying for flights, hotel, chemotherapy, specialist visits, etc were going to be a pretty penny. The church that my parents helped lead worship at and attended took a special offering that not only helped pay for their costs, but it paid for Beth, Brian, Aly and I to go out to visit Boston during his treatment. But God still had some tricks up His sleeve. My dad mentioned to a CAMA camp friend that they would be having extended treatment out in Boston and it was gonna be expensive. The friend mentioned that a former pastor of theirs had moved out to the Boston area and then asked if Dad wanted him to ask if they could find someone for them to stay with. Dad said yes. Next thing you know, Mom and Dad created a lifetime friendship with the Hudecs. Mom and Dad stayed with them many different times. But not only was there a frie
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It’s about the people

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This entire hospital stay Dad has had has been the same theme: it’s not about me, it’s about the people. People came to visit him and the first question he asks from his bed, whether it be in CCU or on a less scary floor, to his guest is “How are you?” And the thing is? He wants to know. He may have 8 broken ribs, but what we are going through is more important to him as the fact that it hurts when he breathes. He started each shift with the nurse telling them “I just want to make your job easy.” He said thank you and I appreciate your care to as many people as he could. One of the nurses told us she didn’t know how to respond because she was more used to abuse than kindness. His response? “It shouldn’t be that way! You give us good care.” Each person that came to see him had a story of how he’s touched their life by caring for them. We even had a CCU nurse that fell in love with our family because we all do our best to live with kindness and respect others. She came
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Our Journey

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This blog is a way that I can share a bit of the journey that we have traveled as the Laughlin family. The details are as I remember them, which means that this is totally a Becky view and does not represent the viewpoint of all Laughlins including Joy, Dick or Beth. Yes, I just gave you a disclaimer in the first paragraph of my blog. But it's mine so I can do that, so there. 😉 November 9, 2004 we received a phone call that shook up our entire world. Dick Laughlin, the patriarch of our little four family was diagnosed with primary amyloidosis and given 12-24 months to live. Amyloidosis is an illness where the body creates too much protein and deposits it into major organs. At the time Dad was diagnosed there were only 500 known cases in the US (remember, these are details as I remember them, so Google may not support aforementioned detail, but the gist of it is IT WAS RARE). The doctor that originally diagnosed him was Dr. Bertner, a nephrologist (read Kidney Doctor). The G
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