On Sunday morning, at 10:20 AM, Josh Allen finished his battle with cancer. He fought courageously with all that he had. He fought for his family. He fought for his friends. He fought for himself. But now his fight is over. Now he finally gets to rest. Cancer free.
On Sept 16th, 2004, Josh went to the hospital again because he had difficulty breathing. When they did some tests, it turned out he had fluid surrounding his lungs and he was put on a ventilator. They drained the fluid and the pathology report came back saying it was cancer. Josh spent the next 10 days in the hospital.
On Sat, Sept 25th, I received a phone call from Marisa (Josh’s sister) asking for prayer and telling us that the doctors did not expect Josh to make it past the weekend. I immediately sent out a prayer request to all of my family and friends. The next day we got the news that Josh passed away.
Josh was diagnosed with mucinous adenocarcinoma of the appendix (the same diagnosis I have) in Jan of this year. It is obvious now that his cancer was much more advanced than mine and probably more aggressive. Although he never had the “Mother Of All Surgeries”, he endured countless trips to the hospital, spent more time in ICU than I ever did, went through more rounds of chemo than I did and suffered with an NG tube longer than I did. And through all that time, he kept plugging away. Never giving up. He was a strong man and a valiant warrior when it came to fighting cancer.
But some warriors die. And when they do, they are remembered by those left behind. There is a tradition among soldiers to toast fallen comrades, and so, in that spirit, I would ask you to raise a glass, a bottle, or a cup of your favorite beverage…
To fallen comrades.
To Josh.
May his life and fight be an example to others. May his memory be a blessing to all.
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