We all stood around Ray. The room was very quiet. We all knew that Ray was going to go on a ventilator soon so this was the last time we would be able to talk to Ray for a while. We said a quick prayer, and then we left. Ray was part of our family, and we did not want him to be hurting.

It all started Christmas morning. Our whole family was happy opening presents and celebrating Jesus’ birthday. Little did we know what would soon be happening in our family. During breakfast my brother Ray started getting an earache. We had him take some Advil, and he started feeling better.


Two hours later we were in the car packed up and ready to spend the night at our aunt and uncle’s house. We were all listening to our iPods and having a lot of fun. After a one hour drive we arrived. We ate a huge Christmas dinner with pot roast, ham, turkey, and delicious mashed potatoes. I looked over at my brother Ray, and he was just picking at his food. My mom made him eat, so he eventually did. Then we went downstairs and opened presents.


Our family was very happy and loved their presents. Ray started to get a horrible headache so he went to sleep. We all went to bed around eleven. Right around four in the morning my brother Ray threw up. I felt bad for him because it was Christmas time and it must be horrible to be sick on Christmas. In the morning we gathered up all of our presents and drove home. Ray slept during most of the car ride. When we arrived at home Ray went inside and flopped down on the couch. He had a very high fever and after a couple of days we took him to the doctor. They couldn’t find anything.


A few days later we received a call from the doctor’s office, and they said he had strep throat. Ray quickly was in so much pain. It was too much for him to bear. He also started having trouble breathing. Seeing him sick like that made me so sad I almost cried. My mom took him to the ER where they stayed overnight. In the morning the call came. Ray had been diagnosed with Leukemia. When I found out, I had many things going through my mind. The first thing I thought was why God, why! He did not deserve this, nobody did. During that time I hated God. Then, I started thinking that it was my fault. Then I prayed to God, telling him that I trusted him and believed that he would pull Ray through this. So far, he has.


Ray has now spent nearly eight weeks in the hospital. Spending time with this scrawny, skeleton-like imitation of my brother made me very depressed. But endless visits by family and friends, keeping hope alive, have managed to get us through this.

Now Ray’s Leukemia has gone into remission, but he is still very sick. Seeing him on the ventilator without hair, so skinny you can see his bones, made me angry at God for putting our family through this. Then I realized that God may be doing this for a reason. I sat down and prayed that he would heal Ray. It is very difficult sometimes to see my mom cry, it makes me very sad. Ray is what was keeping our family together, and we all miss him so much. We are praying for him, and we hope that he will get better soon. This whole experience has taught me that family is the most important thing in the world. I will never forget how I almost lost a very important part of my family.