To hear your child has cancer is nothing short of a nightmare. It’s one of those things you only hear about, a story about a friend of a friend or a family you see on a St. Jude Commercial. We never thought it would happen to us, happen to our beloved five-year-old Roman, until… it did.

We remember learning that there was something seriously wrong with Roman like it was moments ago. Just two weeks after his fifth birthday, we were taken to a room, leaving Roman and his oldest brother behind with a nurse. We didn’t suspect anything was seriously wrong, not until the doctor looked at us and said, “Roman has a significant mass in his chest and needs to go to Children’s hospital immediately.” We were in total shock. The news knocked us sideways. 

A few hours later, Roman was diagnosed with Acute T Cell Leukemia – a type of cancer that doubles in your body every 24 hours. Roman was days, if not hours, from a catastrophic health event. Despite what we saw on the images and what his labs said, we spent zero time focusing on the diagnosis. Once we knew what it was, all of our attention went into the outcome we wanted for Roman. 

We instantly leaned on the scripture, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 12:24. The way we enacted belief was to never pray from a place of fear, but from complete gratitude that God would heal Roman. We showed our belief by visualizing Roman healthy and whole and in different stages of his life - playing soccer with his brothers in middle school, graduating from college, dancing at his wedding. 

The two-plus years Roman’s been in treatment have been bumpy, but what’s unfolded has been nothing short of miraculous. We realize that we are the lucky ones. Between our faith, love and hope and the literal angels that walk the halls of Children’s Minnesota, we have felt so blessed. 

We remember meeting Monica Olsen for the very first time. Roman was in a challenging stage of treatment, so uncomfortable and not interested in doing much. She always, always met him where he was and somehow drew out the joy and silliness we missed so dearly. 

Our physical therapy appointments with Monica quickly became our favorite part of the week. Roman would play, get a little rowdy, and would do impromptu front flips when we weren’t paying attention. She made treatment fun and she will forever be someone we remember as part of our journey. Monica’s warmth, sense of humor, and her uncanny ability to bring out of the best in Roman has been such a pivotal part of his recovery.

We’d obviously never wish this on Roman and would take all the pain and challenges of his diagnosis and treatment away from him, but we know that all things work together for good (Romans 8:28). Sort of funny that our favorite scripture happens to be from the book of Romans, but it’s true. 

We spoke blessings into being – even in the very early hours after diagnosis when our entire lives were flipped upside down, we thanked God for the good that would come out of this experience. I can confidently say that’s exactly what happened. Even in the hardest moments, after the traumatic experiences in the hospital, and the treatment battle we’ve been fighting for so many months, God has revealed himself in some of the most extraordinary and magical ways. 

We have more peace today than we had two years ago. We now know how to exist with uncertainty, to look inward and upward when the fear of the unknown swirls around us. We have the gift of perspective, to know what truly matters now. We know that God chose Roman to do incredible things on this earth and know Roman will touch many lives in the process. We are just the lucky ones that get to watch from front row seats.